Rodeo, California
Encyclopedia
Rodeo is a census-designated place
(CDP) located in Contra Costa County, California
on the shore of San Pablo Bay
. The population was 8,679 at the 2010 census. The town is named for the livestock roundups
common in the late 19th century. Cattle from the surrounding hills were regularly driven down through the old town to a loading dock on the shoreline of San Pablo Bay
for shipment to slaughterhouses, a practice which continued through the early decades of the 20th century. The town of Rodeo is served by the Interstate 80
freeway and State Route 4. The Southern Pacific Railroad
main line passes through Rodeo; however, Rodeo has not been a stop on the railroad since the 1950s.
estate in 1865 and 1867.
Becoming successful ranchers and businessmen, they would amass sizable fortunes and eventually hold public office. Patrick Tormey (for whom the nearby town of Tormey
is named) had visions of this area of Contra Costa County becoming the meatpacking and canning center of the Pacific coast. In partnership with the Union Stockyard Co. in 1890, he sold some of the land to them and began to lay out plans and make large investments for the stockyard facilities. Eventually, streets were graded and lots were prepared for homesteads, thus creating the town of Rodeo.
Patrick Tormey also sold land in the nearby town of Oleum
to the California Lumber Co. for use as a lumberyard (which eventually would be sold to the Union Oil Co.
for an oil refinery site). He also sold land in nearby Selby
, which was used by the Selby Smelting & Lead Co. He also personally funded the meatpacking plant, corrals and the Rodeo Hotel.
The first post office opened in 1892.
After recession in 1893, Patrick Tormey struggled to keep finances going as business began to close, culminating with the bankruptcy of the Union Stockyard Co. Patrick Tormey would be plagued with lawsuits over the bankruptcy for the remainder of his life.
Residents were able to continue to find work in nearby towns of Crockett
(C&H Sugar), Vallejo
(the Mare Island Naval Shipyard), Hercules
(Hercules Powder Co.), and the aforementioned Union Oil Co. in Oleum.
Rodeo as a community managed to continue on, but was devastated in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
. In the aftermath, the town would rebuild much like other communities in and around the greater San Francisco Bay area. Today there is a large oil refinery adjacent to Rodeo, currently operated by ConocoPhillips
.
, the CDP has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²), 81% is land, 19% is water.
was 1,873.6 people per square mile (723.4/km²). The racial makeup of Rodeo was 3,823 (44.0%) White, 1,410 (16.2%) African American, 53 (0.6%) Native American, 1,762 (20.3%) Asian, 62 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 885 (10.2%) from other races
, and 684 (7.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,134 persons (24.6%).
The Census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households and 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters.
There were 2,920 households, out of which 1,126 (38.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,455 (49.8%) were opposite-sex married couples
living together, 540 (18.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 196 (6.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 175 (6.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
, and 21 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 583 households (20.0%) were made up of individuals and 207 (7.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96. There were 2,191 families
(75.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.40.
The population was spread out with 2,128 people (24.5%) under the age of 18, 802 people (9.2%) aged 18 to 24, 2,173 people (25.0%) aged 25 to 44, 2,517 people (29.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,059 people (12.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
There were 3,137 housing units at an average density of 677.2 per square mile (261.5/km²), of which 1,861 (63.7%) were owner-occupied, and 1,059 (36.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.4%. 5,508 people (63.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,130 people (36.1%) lived in rental housing units.
of 2000, there were 8,717 people, 2,882 households, and 2,204 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 1,183.3 inhabitants per square mile (456.7/km²). There were 2,984 housing units at an average density of 405.1 per square mile (156.3/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 52.20% White, 16.04% Black or African American, 1.30% Native American, 16.04% Asian, 0.50% Pacific Islander, 7.17% from other races, and 6.76% from two or more races. 17.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,882 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples
living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.42.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $60,522, and the median income for a family was $63,151. Males had a median income of $46,077 versus $32,452 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $21,432. 6.8% of the population and 6.0% of families were below the poverty line. 8.5% of those under the age of 18 and 6.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
urged the town to change its name because it invokes images of the sport of rodeo
, which they claim is harmful to animals. As a replacement name, the organization suggested Unity, an acknowledgement of Union Oil's role in saving the area economically in the late 19th century. PETA offered to donate $20,000 worth of veggie burger
s to local schools if the name was changed.
for the New York Yankees
, Green Day
's Billie Joe Armstrong
and Mike Dirnt
as well as wackpacker Eric the Midget
.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) located in Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
on the shore of San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in northern California in the United States. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water channel approximately in mid bay, which allows access to Sacramento, Stockton, Benicia, Martinez, and...
. The population was 8,679 at the 2010 census. The town is named for the livestock roundups
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
common in the late 19th century. Cattle from the surrounding hills were regularly driven down through the old town to a loading dock on the shoreline of San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in northern California in the United States. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water channel approximately in mid bay, which allows access to Sacramento, Stockton, Benicia, Martinez, and...
for shipment to slaughterhouses, a practice which continued through the early decades of the 20th century. The town of Rodeo is served by the Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
freeway and State Route 4. The Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
main line passes through Rodeo; however, Rodeo has not been a stop on the railroad since the 1950s.
History
Rodeo owes much of its history to brothers John and Patrick Tormey, who purchased tracts of land from the Ygnacio Martinez Rancho El PinoleRancho El Pinole
Rancho El Pinole was a Mexican land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Ygnacio Martinez...
estate in 1865 and 1867.
Becoming successful ranchers and businessmen, they would amass sizable fortunes and eventually hold public office. Patrick Tormey (for whom the nearby town of Tormey
Tormey, California
Tormey is an unincorporated community in Contra Costa County, California between Rodeo and Crockett on the edge of the Tosco oil refinery in Rodeo. It is west-northwest of Martinez, at an elevation of 20 feet . The community is home to several dozen homes and the former offices of the John Swett...
is named) had visions of this area of Contra Costa County becoming the meatpacking and canning center of the Pacific coast. In partnership with the Union Stockyard Co. in 1890, he sold some of the land to them and began to lay out plans and make large investments for the stockyard facilities. Eventually, streets were graded and lots were prepared for homesteads, thus creating the town of Rodeo.
Patrick Tormey also sold land in the nearby town of Oleum
Oleum, California
Oleum is an unincorporated community in Contra Costa County, California. It is located on the Southern Pacific Railroad east-southeast of Point Pinole, at an elevation of 203 feet . An oil refinery is located at Oleum, hence the name from "petroleum"....
to the California Lumber Co. for use as a lumberyard (which eventually would be sold to the Union Oil Co.
Unocal Corporation
Union Oil Company of California, dba Unocal is a defunct company that was a major petroleum explorer and marketer in the late 19th century, through the 20th century, and into the early 21st century. It was headquartered in El Segundo, California, United States.On August 10, 2005, Unocal merged...
for an oil refinery site). He also sold land in nearby Selby
Selby, California
Selby is an unincorporated community in Contra Costa County, California next to Rodeo. It is located on the Southern Pacific Railroad west-northwest of Martinez, at an elevation of 20 feet...
, which was used by the Selby Smelting & Lead Co. He also personally funded the meatpacking plant, corrals and the Rodeo Hotel.
The first post office opened in 1892.
After recession in 1893, Patrick Tormey struggled to keep finances going as business began to close, culminating with the bankruptcy of the Union Stockyard Co. Patrick Tormey would be plagued with lawsuits over the bankruptcy for the remainder of his life.
Residents were able to continue to find work in nearby towns of Crockett
Crockett, California
Crockett is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 3,094 at the 2010 census...
(C&H Sugar), Vallejo
Vallejo, California
Vallejo is the largest city in Solano County, California, United States. The population was 115,942 at the 2010 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area on the northeastern shore of San Pablo Bay...
(the Mare Island Naval Shipyard), Hercules
Hercules, California
Hercules is a city in western Contra Costa County, California. Situated along the coast of San Pablo Bay, it is located in the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about northeast of San Francisco. The city has a 2010 population of 24,060 according to the U.S...
(Hercules Powder Co.), and the aforementioned Union Oil Co. in Oleum.
Rodeo as a community managed to continue on, but was devastated in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
. In the aftermath, the town would rebuild much like other communities in and around the greater San Francisco Bay area. Today there is a large oil refinery adjacent to Rodeo, currently operated by ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States...
.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.9 km²), 81% is land, 19% is water.
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Rodeo had a population of 8,679. The population densityPopulation density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,873.6 people per square mile (723.4/km²). The racial makeup of Rodeo was 3,823 (44.0%) White, 1,410 (16.2%) African American, 53 (0.6%) Native American, 1,762 (20.3%) Asian, 62 (0.7%) Pacific Islander, 885 (10.2%) from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 684 (7.9%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,134 persons (24.6%).
The Census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households and 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters.
There were 2,920 households, out of which 1,126 (38.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,455 (49.8%) were opposite-sex married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 540 (18.5%) had a female householder with no husband present, 196 (6.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 175 (6.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships
POSSLQ
POSSLQ is an abbreviation for "Persons of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters," a term coined in the late 1970s by the United States Census Bureau as part of an effort to more accurately gauge the prevalence of cohabitation in American households....
, and 21 (0.7%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 583 households (20.0%) were made up of individuals and 207 (7.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.96. There were 2,191 families
Family (U.S. Census)
A family or family household is defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes as "a householder and one or more other people related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. They do not include same-sex married couples even if the marriage was performed in a state...
(75.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.40.
The population was spread out with 2,128 people (24.5%) under the age of 18, 802 people (9.2%) aged 18 to 24, 2,173 people (25.0%) aged 25 to 44, 2,517 people (29.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,059 people (12.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.2 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
There were 3,137 housing units at an average density of 677.2 per square mile (261.5/km²), of which 1,861 (63.7%) were owner-occupied, and 1,059 (36.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.4%. 5,508 people (63.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 3,130 people (36.1%) lived in rental housing units.
2000
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 8,717 people, 2,882 households, and 2,204 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,183.3 inhabitants per square mile (456.7/km²). There were 2,984 housing units at an average density of 405.1 per square mile (156.3/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 52.20% White, 16.04% Black or African American, 1.30% Native American, 16.04% Asian, 0.50% Pacific Islander, 7.17% from other races, and 6.76% from two or more races. 17.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,882 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 17.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.42.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $60,522, and the median income for a family was $63,151. Males had a median income of $46,077 versus $32,452 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $21,432. 6.8% of the population and 6.0% of families were below the poverty line. 8.5% of those under the age of 18 and 6.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
PETA and Rodeo
In October 2003, animal rights group PETAPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
urged the town to change its name because it invokes images of the sport of rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
, which they claim is harmful to animals. As a replacement name, the organization suggested Unity, an acknowledgement of Union Oil's role in saving the area economically in the late 19th century. PETA offered to donate $20,000 worth of veggie burger
Veggie burger
A veggie burger is a hamburger-style patty that does not contain meat. The patty of a veggie burger may be made, for example, from vegetables, textured vegetable protein , legumes, nuts, dairy products, mushrooms, wheat, or eggs....
s to local schools if the name was changed.
Famous residents
Rodeo was the hometown of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty GomezLefty Gómez
Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez was an American left-handed major league pitcher who played in the American League for the New York Yankees between 1930 and 1942. Considered one of the great pitchers of the day, Gomez was a seven-time All-Star and a five-time World Series Champion with the Yankees...
for the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
's Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong is an American rock musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, main songwriter and lead guitarist for the American punk rock band Green Day...
and Mike Dirnt
Mike Dirnt
Michael Ryan Pritchard is an American musician, best known as the bassist, backing vocalist and co-founder of the American Rock band Green Day. While at school, he would play "air-bass." While pretending to pluck the strings, he made the noise, "dirnt, dirnt, dirnt"...
as well as wackpacker Eric the Midget
Eric the Midget
Eric Lynch , better known as Eric the Midget or Eric the Bedhumper, is known solely as a fan of The Howard Stern Show. He is considered a part of the Wack Pack, though membership is unofficial. Lynch is tall, weighs , and uses a motorized wheelchair, in addition to various other afflictions...
.