Swall Meadows is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) in southern

Mono County, California Mono County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,195, making it the fourth-least populous county in California. The county seat is Bridgeport. The coun ...

, United States. The population was 178 as of the 2020 census. The community is residential, including second homes and a volunteer fire department, but no commercial development. The ZIP Code is 93514. The community is inside

area code 760 Area code 760 is a California telephone area code that was split from area code 619 on March 22, 1997. Area code 442 is an overlay of 760 that became effective on November 21, 2009. It encompasses much of the southeastern and southernmost porti ...

Geography

Swall Meadows sits partway up the Sherwin Grade below the

Wheeler Crest The Wheeler Crest or Wheeler Ridge is a ridge in Mono and Inyo Counties, California. The crest is long, and partially lies in the John Muir Wilderness The John Muir Wilderness is a wilderness area that extends along the crest of the Sierra N ...

of the eastern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primar ...

, at an elevation range of approximately . It is in pinon-juniper/

subalpine zone Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

habitat, with views south along the Sierra Crest of Mt. Tom, and east across the Owens Valley to the White Mountains and Nevada. It is accessed from "old 395", or Lower Rock Creek Road. Swall Meadows is approximately north of

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

and south of

Mammoth Lakes Mammoth Lakes is a town in Mono County, California, and is the county's only incorporated community. It is located immediately to the east of Mammoth Mountain, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,191, r ...

(by highway distance). It also well known in the area as an important deer migration route for the Round Valley mule deer population, which cherish the grazing in the meadow and apple falls from the old orchard trees. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the Swall Meadows CDP covers an area of , all of it land. At the high, northwestern end is the old Sky Meadows Ranch, then houses and firehouse near the meadow, and at the southeast end a development known as Pinyon Ranch. In addition to the predominant pinyon-juniper-sagebrush habitat, there are permanent and seasonal streams and the eponymous meadow with wetter-habitat vegetation such as

Jeffrey pine ''Pinus jeffreyi'', also known as Jeffrey pine, Jeffrey's pine, yellow pine and black pine, is a North American pine tree. It is mainly found in California, but also in the westernmost part of Nevada, southwestern Oregon, and northern Baja Califo ...

s, willows, stream and bog orchids, and the remnant trees of the old commercial apple orchard. In 2011 th
Eastern Sierra Land Trust
secured a conservation easement to protect of the Swall Meadows meadow area (location of the historic homesite), for the continued benefit of the migrating mule deer. A number of other conservation easements have been completed in Swall Meadows since the ESLT organization was founded in 2001. Between Paradise and Swall Meadows the old wagon road can be seen that climbed about up the Sherwin Grade from Owens Valley toward

Crowley Lake Crowley Lake is a reservoir on the upper Owens River in southern Mono County, California, in the United States. Crowley Lake is south of Mammoth Lakes. The lake was created in 1941 by the building of the Long Valley Dam by the Los Angeles Depar ...

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators serving ...

reported that Swall Meadows had a population of 220. The population density was . The racial makeup of Swall Meadows was 201 (91.4%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0 (0.0%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 3 (1.4%) Native American, 5 (2.3%) Asian, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 2 (0.9%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 9 (4.1%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 6 persons (2.7%). The Census reported that 220 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 98 households, out of which 25 (25.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 68 (69.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 4 (4.1%) had a female householder with no husband present, 3 (3.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2 (2.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 21 households (21.4%) were made up of individuals, and 10 (10.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24. There were 75 families (76.5% of all households); the average family size was 2.60. The population was spread out, with 36 people (16.4%) under the age of 18, 6 people (2.7%) aged 18 to 24, 37 people (16.8%) aged 25 to 44, 99 people (45.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 42 people (19.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. There were 128 housing units at an average density of , of which 90 (91.8%) were owner-occupied, and 8 (8.2%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 0%. 201 people (91.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 19 people (8.6%) lived in rental housing units.

Government

In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...

, Swall Meadows is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Swall Meadows is in .

Round Fire

On February 6, 2015, Swall Meadows and the neighboring community of Paradise were ravaged by the Round Fire, which burned . The fire destroyed 40 homes: 39 homes in Swall Meadows and 1 home in Paradise.

References

External links