Hesperia Commercial Excavation CA

Hesperia began as a Spanish land grant: Rancho San Felipe, Las Flores y el Paso del Cajon, founded in 1781. The first inhabitants were Serrano Indians. They lived in the normally dormant Mojave River bed, and the land was sparsely inhabited desert during Spanish-Mexican rule in the 19th century. The U.S. annexed the region along with Southern California after the Mexican-American War in 1848.

In 1869, Max Stobel purchased 35,000 acres (14,000 ha) from the United States Government Land Office for $40,000. While several attempts were made to subdivide and encourage colonization, the land was primary used for agricultural purposes, with raisin grapes the primary product.

The town site was laid out in 1891 by railroad company land developers of the US & Santa Fe Railroad, which was completed that year. Hesperia was named for Hesperus, the Greek god of the West. The railroad land developers published pamphlets distributed across the country with boosterism of Hesperia, California, as a potential metropolis, to become “the Omaha of the West” or projections to have over 100,000 people by 1900, but only 1,000 moved in.

Hesperia grew relatively slowly until the completion of US Routes 66, 91, and 395 in the 1940s, followed by Interstate 15 in the late 1960s. About 30 square miles (78 km) of land were laid out for possible residential development.

In the early 1950s, land developer M. Penn Phillips and his silent financial partner, boxer Jack Dempsey, financed the building of roads and land subdivisions, promoting lots sales on television. They built the Hesperia Inn and golf course, which attracted a variety of Hollywood celebrities. The Hesperia Inn also housed the Jack Dempsey Museum.

The main wave of newcomers, though, arrived at Hesperia in the 1980s. Suburban growth transformed the small town of 5,000 people in 1970 to a moderate-sized city with a population over 60,000 by 2000, and an estimated population over 95,000 as of July 1, 2018.

Hesperia is a city in the Mojave Desert, and the California Aqueduct traverses the area. Much of the native flora of Hesperia is classified as California desert vegetation, dominated by junipers, joshua trees, and sagebrush. The elevation rises from 3,200 feet (980 m) in the north to about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) above sea level to the south.

The San Andreas Fault, a major tectonic plate boundary of the Pacific and North American plates a few miles south of Hesperia in the Cajon Pass, has occasional seismic activity.

Hesperia is located at 3,186 feet (971 m) above sea level and is a neighbor of Victorville, Oak Hills, and Apple Valley. The Mojave River flows northerly through the east side of the city, while the California Aqueduct splits the city from north to south en route to Silverwood Lake.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 73.2 square miles (190 km), with 73.1 square miles (189 km²) of land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km) (0.15%) covered by water.

On the southern edge of Hesperia, where the city meets the desert by the airport to the east, is a somewhat pronounced mesa.

According to the Köppen climate classification, Hesperia has a cold desert climate, BWk on climate maps.

Winter days are cool with high temperatures averaging around 60 °F (16 °C), but temperatures get cold overnight, as the average low temperatures for December and January are around freezing. It is also the area’s wet season. The rain shadow caused by the mountain ranges to the south and west shields Hesperia from the majority of winter rainfall, but heavy rain is not uncommon. Winter snowfall is sporadic – the average yearly snowfall amount is 4.4 inches.

Summer days are very hot, with high temperatures typically nearing 100 °F (38 °C). This excessive heat is typical of the Mojave Desert as a whole. The large diurnal temperature variation, though, provides substantial relief overnight. In the later part of the season, sporadic summer thunderstorms associated with the North American monsoon can bring power outages and local flash floods.

As of the 2000 census 62,582 people, 19,966 households, and 15,773 families were living in the city. The population density was 929.3 inhabitants per square mile (358.8/km²). The 21,348 housing units averaged 317.0 per square mile (122.4/km). The racial makeup of the city was 74.3% White, 4.0% African American, 1.3% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 6.5% from other races, and 4.7% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 29.4% of the population.

Of the 19,966 households, 42.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.9% were married couples living together, 13.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.0% were not families. About 16.5% of households were one person and 7.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.1, and the average family size was 3.5.

The age distribution was 32.8% under 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.0% 65 or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.3 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.

The median income for a household was $40,201 and for a family was $43,004. Males had a median income of $39,776 versus $25,665 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,487. About 11.1% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.2% of those under 18 and 6.4% of those 65 or over.

At the 2010 census, Hesperia had a population of 90,173. The population density was 1,231.7 people per square mile (475.6/km). The racial makeup of Hesperia was 55,129 (61.1%) White (41.1% non-Hispanic White), 5,226 (5.8%) African American, 1,118 (1.2%) Native American, 1,884 (2.1%) Asian, 270 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 22,115 (24.5%) from other races, and 4,431 (4.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44,091 persons (48.9%).

The census reported that 90,145 people lived in households, 22 lived in noninstitutionalized group quarters, and six were institutionalized.

Of the 26,431 households, 49.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 56.0% were opposite-sex married couples living together, 16.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 8.1% had a male householder with no wife present; 7.6% were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0.7% were same-sex married couples or partnerships. About 15.3% were one-person households and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.41. The average family size was 3.76.

The age distribution was 29,156 people (32.3%) under 18, 9,465 people (10.5%) from 18 to 24, 23,243 people (25.8%) from 25 to 44, 20,157 people (22.4%) from 45 to 64, and 8,152 people (9.0%) 65 or older. The median age was 30.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The 29,004 housing units averaged 396.2 per square mile; of the occupied units, 17,688 (66.9%) were owner-occupied and 8,743 (33.1%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.4%; 58,320 people (64.7% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 31,825 people (35.3%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Hesperia had a median household income of $46,027, with 23.1% of the population living below the federal poverty line.