Darwin, California

History

The town is named after Darwin French (1822–1902), a local rancher, miner, and explorer.

According to Erwin Gudde, French of Fort Tejon was with a party of prospectors in the area during the fall of 1850. French also led a party into Death Valley in 1860 to search for the mythical Gunsight Lode via the local wash, lending his first name to the wash, canyon, and future town.

Silver and lead discovery at the place led to the founding of a settlement in 1874. A post office opened in 1875, closed for a time in 1902, and remains open. The town prospered when Eichbaum Toll Road opened in 1926, opening Death Valley from the west. When Death Valley became a National Monument in 1933, it was decided to buy the toll road to allow free access to the new park. In 1937, a new cutoff bypassed Darwin, isolating the town.

The town was the subject of a 2011 documentary film Darwin. In April 2012, BBC News featured a video of local residents describing their wishes to replace dial-up Internet access with broadband.{{Cite news | access-date = 2012-04-03

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 1.3 sqmi, all of it land. The census definition of the area was created by the Census Bureau for statistical purposes and may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name.

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1860–1870 1880-1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Darwin first appeared as a census designated place in the 2000 U.S. census.

The 2020 United States census reported that Darwin had a population of 36. The population density was 26.8 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Darwin was 34 (94%) non-Hispanic white and 2 (6%) Native American.

The whole population lived in households. There were 24 households, out of which 4 (17%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 8 (33%) were married-couple households, 6 (25%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 10 (42%) had a male householder with no partner present. 11 households (45.8%) were one person, and 6 (25.0%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.5.

The age distribution was 0 people (0%) under the age of 18, 1 person (3%) aged 18 to 24, 6 people (17%) aged 25 to 44, 18 people (50%) aged 45 to 64, and 11 people (31%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 61.5years. There were 25 males and 11 females.

There were 46 housing units at an average density of 34.2 /mi2, of which 24 (52%) were occupied. Of these, 14 (58%) were owner-occupied, and 10 (42%) were occupied by renters.

Government

In the state legislature, Darwin is in , and .

Federally, Darwin is in .

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. {{GNIS. 2408642
3. {{California's Geographic Names. 1158
4. (1998). "California place names : the origin and etymology of current geographical names". University of California Press.
5. Palazzo, Robert P.. (1996). "Darwin, California".
6. Palazzo, Robert P.. (2005). "Inyo County Post Offices and Postmasters 1866-1966".
7. Minnigerodee, Fitzhugh L.. (October 24, 1937). "Road Joins 'Extremes'". [[The New York Times]].
8. "Decennial Census by Decade".
9. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County".
10. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County".
11. "1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions".
12. "1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions".
13. "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California".
14. "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
15. "1930 Census of Population - Number and Distribution of Inhabitants - California".
16. "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
17. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
18. "1960 Census of Population - General population Characteristics - California".
19. "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
20. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
21. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
22. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
23. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
24. "Darwin CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
25. "Darwin CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
26. "Senators". State of California.
27. "Members Assembly". State of California.
28. {{Cite GovTrack. CA. 3