Hanford is the most populous city in and the county seat of Kings County, California, located in the San Joaquin Valley region of the greater Central Valley. The population was 57,990 at the 2020 census.
History Hanford was once north of Tulare Lake, historically the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi River. The area was inhabited by the Tachi Yokuts Indians for several thousand years prior to Euro-American contact. They occupied locations along watercourses such as creeks, springs and seep areas (such as sloughs), along perennial and seasonal drainages, as well as flat ridges and terraces.
Since the annexation of California after the Mexican-American War, the locality was settled by Americans and immigrants as farmland, broadly referred to as "Mussel Slough". The earliest dated grave in the area was that of a young Alice Spangler who was initially buried in the Kings River Cemetery just north of her family's farm in 1860. As the settlement grew, Tulare Lake's feeding rivers were diverted for agricultural irrigation, causing it to gradually shrink and, over the 19th and 20th centuries, dry up.
From the mid-to-late 1870s, the Southern Pacific Railroad planned to lay tracks towards the developing farmland west of Visalia, spurring a growth in labor and population. Hanford's namesake was James Madison Hanford, an executive for the company. The earliest known document labeling the settlement as "Hanford" is an 1876 map of Tulare County which once included the territory of present-day Kings County. Tracks were laid through a sheep camp in 1877. According to History of Kings County: "It was but a short step from sheep-camp to village and with the railroad as an attraction the village flourished and became a town within a few historic months."Brown, Robert R. and Richmond, J.E., History of Kings County, A.H. Cawston, Hanford, CA, 1940 Many of those working on the tracks were Chinese immigrants.
In 1877, Hanford began to appear in state newspapers, giving details of events in the town's early days. In 1878, Hanford began running their own newspaper service and wiring called "The Public Good" which fed into other papers. In May 1878, Hanford residents drafted a resolve against the South Pacific Railroad from purchasing land with residing settlers. In June 1878, the Workingmen's Party was reported to have a majority vote over the Democrats in the town.
In May 1878, the Upper Kings River Canal and Irrigation Company filed articles of incorporation. On August 1, California Governor candidates George Clement Perkins and Romualdo Pacheco (and on August 10, O F Thornton and W F White W P C) spoke in Hanford and Lemoore.
In May 1880, a dispute over land titles between settlers and the Southern Pacific Railroad resulted in a bloody gun battle on a farm northwest of Hanford that left seven men dead. This event became famous as the Mussel Slough Tragedy. The next month, the town's first census was held counting some 269 residents. Forty-four of them were Chinese immigrants who resided in what's known today as China Alley.
A post office was established in 1887.
On several occasions, major fires destroyed much of the young community's business district. The need for fire protection led to the town becoming an incorporated city in 1891. Its first mayor was local resident Yamon LeBaron.
An electrical generating plant was built in 1891 by pioneering flour miller H.G. Lacey, bringing the first electric lights to the city. The Lacey Milling Company, founded in 1887, was operated by Lacey and his descendants for 136 years before shutting down in 2023.
The first public high school, Hanford Union High School, was started in 1892 with one teacher, W. S. Cranmer, and an average enrollment of fourteen.Gibson, Harold, History of Kings County Public Schools, Hanford, CA, 2004
When Kings County was created in 1893 from the western part of Tulare County, Hanford became its county seat.
A second railroad was laid through Hanford in 1897, which today is the main north–south line of the BNSF Railway through the San Joaquin Valley. The original east–west Southern Pacific Railroad branch line is now operated by the San Joaquin Valley Railroad.
Saloons flourished in Hanford's early days despite an anti-saloon movement until the town voted to become "dry" in 1912, eight years before nationwide prohibition was enacted.
In the 1930s, famed pilot Amelia Earhart lived in Hanford to teach flying lessons at Fresno Chandler Airport. She befriended local resident and student of hers Mary Packwood with whom she gifted a personally-designed dress and left luggage shortly before her disappearance in the Pacific Ocean in 1937. The belongings are on display in Hanford's Carnegie Museum.
Geography
Hanford is situated in the south-central portion of California's San Joaquin Valley, south-southeast of the city of Fresno and west of the city of Visalia. The city is above sea level and has a flat terrain. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. The only natural watercourse is Mussel Slough, remnants of which still exist on the city's western edge. The Kings River is about north of Hanford. The People's Ditch, an irrigation canal dug in the 1870s, traverses Hanford from north to south. Hanford's land was once a drainage basin for Tulare Lake.
Climate Hanford has a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) typical of the San Joaquin Valley floor with sweltering, dry summers and cool winters characterized by dense tule fog. The wetter season occurs from November through March. The average annual rainfall over the ten years from 1997/98 through 2006/07 was , although the wettest "rain year" from July 1968 to June 1969 totalled and the driest from July 2013 to June 2014 only . The wettest month has been January 1969 with , and the wettest day February 24, 2023 with .
Hanford falls within USDA plant hardiness zones 9a () and 9b (). The coldest temperature on record has been on January 6 and January 7, 1913.
Notes
Demographics
2020 census As of the 2020 census, Hanford had a population of 57,990. The population density was . The median age was 33.4 years. The age distribution was 27.8% under 18, 9.5% aged 18 to 24, 28.2% aged 25 to 44, 21.4% aged 45 to 64, and 13.0% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males.
The census reported that 98.2% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1.3% were institutionalized. 99.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 19,157 households, of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.9% were married-couple households, 7.9% were cohabiting couple households, 16.6% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present, and 26.7% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. About 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97. There were 14,129 families (73.8% of all households).
There were 19,851 housing units at an average density of , of which 19,157 (96.5%) were occupied. Of occupied units, 58.5% were owner-occupied and 41.5% were occupied by renters. 3.5% of housing units were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9%, and the rental vacancy rate was 3.4%.
+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census Race Number Percent White 26,410 45.5% Black or African American 2,746 4.7% American Indian and Alaska Native 1,140 2.0% Asian 2,475 4.3% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 125 0.2% Some other race 14,592 25.2% Two or more races 10,502 18.1% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 30,763 53.0%
2023 ACS 5-year estimates In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 16.3% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 66.0% spoke only English at home, 29.2% spoke Spanish, 1.8% spoke other Indo-European languages, 2.6% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.4% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 80.9% were high school graduates and 17.8% had a bachelor's degree.
The median household income in 2023 was $73,544, and the per capita income was $31,281. About 12.8% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010 census The 2010 United States census reported that Hanford had a population of 53,967. The population density was . The racial makeup of Hanford was 33,713 (62.5%) White, 2,632 (4.9%) African American, 712 (1.3%) Native American, 2,322 (4.3%) Asian, 53 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 11,599 (21.5%) from other races, and 2,936 (5.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25,419 persons (47.1%).
The Census reported that 53,068 people (98.3% of the population) lived in households, 283 (0.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 616 (1.1%) were institutionalized.
There were 17,492 households, out of which 8,053 (46.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 9,088 (52.0%) were married couples living together, 2,833 (16.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1,207 (6.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 1,315 (7.5%) unmarried partnerships, and 117 (0.7%) same-sex partnerships. 3,483 households (19.9%) were made up of individuals, and 1,405 (8.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03. There were 13,128 families (75.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.49.
The population was spread out, with 16,731 people (31.0%) under the age of 18, 5,478 people (10.2%) aged 18 to 24, 14,764 people (27.4%) aged 25 to 44, 11,647 people (21.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,347 people (9.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males.
There were 18,493 housing units at an average density of , of which 10,208 (58.4%) were owner-occupied, and 7,284 (41.6%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.6%. 31,109 people (57.6% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 21,959 people (40.7%) lived in rental housing units.
15.5% of the populace lived below the poverty line.
Economy Hanford is a major trading center serving the surrounding agricultural area. According to the California Employment Development Department, as of September 2012, most residents of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area were employed in services (31,000 employees), government (14,400 employees) and farming (6,400 employees) as well as in some manufacturing enterprises (5,700 employees).
The heavy industry sector has declined significantly over the past 30 years. An oil refinery formerly operated in the city under several different owners (Caminol Oil Co. from 1932 to 1967, Beacon Oil Co. from 1967 to 1982 and Ultramar Oil Co. from 1982 to 1987) until it permanently closed in 1987. A tire manufacturing plant was built in 1962 by the Armstrong Rubber Co., which operated it until that company was purchased by the Italian manufacturer Pirelli, which eventually closed the factory in 2001. In August 2017, Faraday Future announced that it had signed a lease for the former Pirelli plant where it plans to manufacture electric vehicles. The company said that it could employ up to 1,300 people over time and build up to 10,000 cars a year.