Coalinga ( or ) is a city in the Pleasant Valley in

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populo ...

and the western

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; Spanish language in California, Spanish: ''Valle de San Joaquín'') is the southern half of California's Central Valley (California), Central Valley. Famed as a major breadbasket, the San Joaquin Valley is an importa ...

, in central

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

about 80 miles (128 km) southeast of Salinas. It was formerly known as ''Coaling Station A'', ''Coalingo'', and ''Coalinga Station''. The population was 17,590 as of the 2020 census, up from 13,380 at the 2010 census. It is the site of both

Pleasant Valley State Prison Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP) is a minimum-to-maximum security state prison in Coalinga, Fresno County, California. The facility has housed convicted murderers Sirhan Sirhan, Erik Menendez, X-Raided, Paul Flores and Hans Reiser, among ...

and

Coalinga State Hospital Coalinga State Hospital (CSH) is a state mental hospital in Coalinga, California. The facility opened on September 5, 2005; it was the first state hospital to be constructed in California in more than 50 years. It is a maximum security facility ...

History

19th century

Legendary bandit

Joaquin Murrieta Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes misspelled Murieta or Murietta) (c. 1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexicans, Mexican figure of disputed historicity. The novel ''The Lif ...

was killed in 1853 at his headquarters, Arroyo de Cantua, north of Coalinga.

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

#344 marks the approximate site of where he was slain, near the junction of present-day State Route 33 and Route 198. Before 20th-century

diesel locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

s were used, and powered in the San Joaquin Valley by burning

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

mined from the northern foothills of

Mount Diablo Mount Diablo is a mountain of the Diablo Range, in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County of the eastern San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California. It is south of Clayton, California, Clayton and northeast of Danville, Califo ...

to the north. The

Southern Pacific Railroad Company The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...

established the site as a

coaling station Fuelling stations, also known as coaling stations, are repositories of fuel (initially coal and later oil) that have been located to service commercial and naval vessels. Today, the term "coaling station" can also refer to coal storage and feedi ...

in 1888, and it was called simply Coaling Station A. Local tradition has it that an official of Southern Pacific made the name more sonorous by adding an ''a'' to it. However, it is just as likely that the small railside signs of the day, which often abbreviated names, read "COALINGA" to mean "Coaling A." nother example is Braner's Cut north of Eureka, whose sign said "BRACUT," which has now become the name of that spot along Highway 101.The resemblance to

Nahuatl Nahuatl ( ; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have smaller popul ...

(where ''cōātl'' = "snake") is accidental. The first post office was established in 1899. The city was incorporated in 1906.

20th century

The town is mostly surrounded by the

Coalinga oil field The Coalinga Oil Field is a large oil field in western Fresno County, California, in the United States. It surrounds the town of Coalinga, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, to the west of Interstate 5, at the foot of the Diabl ...

whose principal operator,

Chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock la ...

, is a major employer in the area.

1983 earthquake

On May 2, 1983, Coalinga was struck by an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

with a

moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

of 6.5, which nearly destroyed more than 300 homes and apartment buildings; another 691 buildings suffered major damage, and hundreds more had minor damage. Damage was severe in downtown Coalinga; the eight-block commercial district was almost totally destroyed. The shock was felt as far away as Los Angeles and western

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, and was followed by a series of aftershocks that caused additional minor damage and some injuries. Only one death was reported: a man who succumbed to a heart attack.

2022 water shortage

In 2022, the city struggled to confront an acute water shortage. The city’s only water source is an aqueduct that is managed by the federal government. Officials estimated that the water was going to run dry before the end of 2022. Due to statewide floods that winter, though, the prediction was no longer valid.

Geography

Coalinga is located southwest of

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, at an elevation of . The

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

is generally level, suitable for a number of field crops which do not require large amounts of water. It is located in the Pleasant Valley, east of the Alcalde Hills, north of the Jacalitos Hills, south of the

Anticline Ridge The Anticline Ridge is a ridge, southeast of Joaquin Ridge, declining from its 3,629 foot / 1,106 meter high point, Black Mountain in the north at , to the southeast into low hills bound on the southeast by Los Gatos Creek that divides it from ...

, and west of the

Guijarral Hills The Guijarral Hills are a range of low hills in the inner California Coast Ranges, in Fresno County, California, about seven miles east of the town of Coalinga. Guijarral is derived from a Spanish word meaning "heap of pebbles". They are the surf ...

, all eastern foothills of the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay Area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley a ...

. The Los Gatos Creek runs north of town.

Geology

Underlying rock formations include the occurrence of

Vaqueros sandstone The Vaqueros Formation is a sedimentary geologic unit primarily of Upper Oligocene and Lower Miocene age, which is widespread on the California coast and coastal ranges in approximately the southern half of the state. It is predominantly a medi ...

. Surrounding the town in a semicircle from the west, around the north, and to the east are several

anticlinal Anticlinal may refer to: *Anticline, in structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core *Anticlinal, in stereochemistry, a torsion angle between 90° to 150°, and –90° to –150°; see Alkane_st ...

formations containing considerable accumulations of petroleum as the

Coalinga Oil Field The Coalinga Oil Field is a large oil field in western Fresno County, California, in the United States. It surrounds the town of Coalinga, about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, to the west of Interstate 5, at the foot of the Diabl ...

, from which oil has been withdrawn for more than a hundred years. The city is located near a particularly active portion of the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...

, and earthquakes are frequent.

Climate

Coalinga has a

cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

(''

BSk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK ...

''), with very hot summers and cool winters. Its

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 9a.PlantMaps: Hardiness Zone for Coalinga
/ref> The average annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls from clouds due to gravitational pull. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, rain and snow mixed ("sleet" in Commonwe ...

is , falling mainly from October to May.

Economy

The city's main industries are

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

Cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and

incarceration Imprisonment or incarceration is the restraint of a person's liberty for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is considered " false imprisonment". Impri ...

. The city is home to the

, operated by

and

Aera Energy Aera Energy LLC (or simply Aera) is a natural gas, oil exploration and production company started as a joint venture between Shell plc (through Shell USA) and Mobil (which later merged to form ExxonMobil). Headquartered in Bakersfield, Californ ...

; the

Guijarral Hills Oil Field The Guijarral Hills Oil Field is a formerly-productive oil and gas field near Coalinga on the western side of the Central Valley in central California in the United States. Discovered in 1948, and having produced of oil during its peak year in ...

; and

opened in September 2005. It was California's first new mental health hospital in more than 50 years, a 1,500-bed facility built specifically to house

sexually violent predators Some jurisdictions may commit certain types of dangerous sex offenders to state-run detention facilities following the completion of their sentence if that person has a "mental abnormality" or personality disorder that makes the person likely t ...

. In 2016 Coalinga was one of the first cities to pass an ordinance allowing for the cultivation, manufacturing and distribution of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

. The City sold its old Claremont Custody Center (jail) to Ocean Grown Extracts for $4.1 million, to help the city get out of a financial crisis and to supply jobs to local residents.

Education and Government

Coalinga is the site of Coalinga College (formally West Hills College-Coalinga), which is part of the

California Community Colleges system The California Community Colleges is a postsecondary education University system, system in the U.S. state of California.California Education CodSection 70900(added to the Education Code by Chapter 973 of the California Statutes of 1988Assembly ...

. Its children are served by the Coalinga-Huron Joint Unified School District, of which

Coalinga High School Coalinga High School is a public high school in Coalinga, California. It lies southwest of Fresno, California and northeast of San Luis Obispo, California. It serves both the communities of Coalinga and Huron. It is a member of the West Sierra L ...

is a part. In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Coalinga is in

California's 13th congressional district California's 13th congressional district is a California's congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Adam Gray, a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, has represented this district since January 20 ...

and is represented by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Adam Gray Adam Channing Gray (born September 23, 1977) is an American politician who is a member of the United States House of Representatives from after defeating Republican incumbent John Duarte in the 2024 election. A Democrat, he previously served ...

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Coalinga had a population of 17,590. The population density was . The racial makeup of Coalinga was 36.7%

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

, 4.1%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 2.0%

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

, 2.2% Asian, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 40.2% from other races, and 14.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

of any race were 63.9% of the population. Coalinga house

The census reported that 73.7% of the population lived in households, 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 25.7% were institutionalized. There were 4,293 households, out of which 45.1% included children under the age of 18, 45.6% were married-couple households, 9.1% were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 27.7% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.6% had a male householder with no partner present. 20.5% of households were one person, and 6.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.02. There were 3,182

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(74.1% of all households). The age distribution was 22.1% under the age of 18, 10.2% aged 18 to 24, 35.5% aged 25 to 44, 23.5% aged 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 34.0years. For every 100 females, there were 166.2 males. There were 4,658 housing units at an average density of , of which 4,293 (92.2%) were occupied. Of these, 52.0% were owner-occupied, and 48.0% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $78,014, and the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $24,001. About 13.9% of families and 22.2% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Coalinga had a population of 13,380. The population density was . The racial makeup of Coalinga was 7,734 (57.8%)

, 549 (4.1%)

, 171 (1.3%)

, 407 (3.0%) Asian, 36 (0.3%)

, 3,937 (29.4%) from other races, and 546 (4.1%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 7,161 persons (53.5%). The Census reported that 11,752 people (87.8% of the population) lived in households, 130 (1.0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,498 (11.2%) were institutionalized. There were 3,896 households, out of which 1,809 (46.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,913 (49.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 658 (16.9%) had a female householder with no husband present, 311 (8.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 341 (8.8%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 16 (0.4%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 797 households (20.5%) were made up of individuals, and 220 (5.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.02. There were 2,882

(74.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.49. The population was spread out, with 3,763 people (28.1%) under the age of 18, 1,610 people (12.0%) aged 18 to 24, 3,646 people (27.2%) aged 25 to 44, 3,308 people (24.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,053 people (7.9%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.9 years. For every 100 females, there were 123.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 132.1 males. There were 4,344 housing units at an average density of , of which 3,896 were occupied, of which 1,996 (51.2%) were owner-occupied, and 1,900 (48.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 8.4%. 6,192 people (46.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,560 people (41.6%) lived in rental housing units.

Attractions

The Horned Toad Derby is held in Coalinga in late May over the

Memorial Day Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It is observed on the last Monday of May. It i ...

weekend annually. The three-day event is similar to the more famous Jumping Frog Jubilee held in

Calaveras County, California Calaveras County (), officially the County of Calaveras, is a county in both the Gold Country and High Sierra regions of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,292. The county seat is San Andreas. Angels ...

, but utilizes locally caught horned toads (lizards) rather than frogs. The tradition began in 1935. The WHAMOBASS Balloon Rally is hosted by Coalinga annually on the November weekend closest to Montgolfiere Day (November 21) every year. It's the longest consecutively running annual

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...

rally in the world. It is sponsored by the Whiskey Hill Atherton Menlo Oaks Ballooning & Sporting Society. Typically, more than 40 balloons ascend at dawn on Saturday and Sunday morning from the athletic field of

West Hills College Coalinga Coalinga College, formerly West Hills College Coalinga, is a public community college in Coalinga, California, with a satellite facility in Firebaugh. Both locations serve students in the central San Joaquin Valley. Established in 1932, Coaling ...

. A small number fly on Friday and occasionally on Thursday. The R.C. Baker Memorial Museum is housed in the former Baker Oil Tools machine shop in town.Roadsideamerica.com: R. C. Baker Memorial Museum
review and directions. The museum displays local fossils, models of prehistoric fauna, Native American artifacts, and items from pioneer settlers. A restored 1934 Richfield gas station is also on the museum's property. The museum continues to collect historical items donated to the collection. The Coalinga Rifle Club, whose 25 point, 1000 yard range facility is west of town, is host to various California State Rifle Championships. These include: California State Long Range, Mid Range, Palma Rifle, Fullbore, Service Rifle and High Power Championships. In the past, the Navy SEALs have trained at the rifle club. It is also the home of the California Grizzlies, Junior National Champions for the last four years. They have recreational facilities for rifle, pistol, shotgun and a 500-meter Metallic Silhouette Range. The

New Coalinga Municipal Airport New Coalinga Municipal Airport is three miles east of Coalinga, California, Coalinga, in Fresno County, California, Fresno County, California, United States. It is owned by the city of Coalinga. The original Coalinga Municipal Airport (Old), Co ...

is host to the annual Northern California Aerobatic contest. This early June event is typically the largest of five annual California regional aerobatic contests sanctioned by the International Aerobatic Club. It relocated to Coalinga from Paso Robles in 2013. Visitors to the airport can view upwards of 45 pilots flying a wide variety of competitive aircraft in five categories of competition over a two-day period. The

Harris Ranch Harris Ranch, or the Harris Cattle Ranch, feedlot is California's largest beef producer, producing of beef per year in 2010. It is located alongside Interstate 5 at its intersection with State Route 198 east of Coalinga, in the San Joaquin ...

is a cattle ranch that features a hotel, several restaurants, and a gift shop for travelers. It is located on

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

about 13 miles northeast of Coalinga. The

Harris Ranch Airport Harris Ranch Airport is an airstrip near Coalinga, California, next to Interstate 5. To the north of the airport is the Harris Ranch Restaurant and Inn. The airport has been open since March 1981. There is only one runway, wide and long. Park ...

is nearby.

Transportation

Coalinga is located at the junction of

California State Route 198 State Route 198 (SR 198) is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from U.S. Route 101 (US 101) south of King City to Sequoia National Park. It connects the California Central Coast to the mid– Centra ...

and

California State Route 33 State Route 33 (SR 33) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs north from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura through the Transverse Ranges and the western side of the San Joaquin Valley to Interstate 5 at a ...

. Fresno County Rural Transit Agency provides Monday through Saturday bus service between Coalinga and

, including stops at Fresno Amtrak and Fresno International Airport.

FlixBus FlixBus (; styled FLiXBUS) is a German brand that offers low-cost Intercity bus service, intercity coach services in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. It is owned by , which also operates FlixTrain, FlixCar, , and Greyhound Lines. F ...

stops twice daily at the ARCO station, en route to Los Angeles and the Bay Area. The city owns the

, located east of town.

Notable people

* Jeffrey L. Bannister, U.S. Army major general, born in Coalinga * Stanley George "Frenchy" Bordagaray, baseball player * Hal Finney, computer scientist and inventor of the reusable

proof-of-work system Proof of work (also written as proof-of-work, an abbreviated PoW) is a form of Cryptography, cryptographic proof (truth), proof in which one party (the ''prover'') proves to others (the ''verifiers'') that a certain amount of a specific computatio ...

that was instrumental in the development of

bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...

John McCollum John M. McCollum (February 21, 1922 – October 30, 2015) was an American tenor who had an active singing career in operas, concerts, and recitals during the 1950s through the 1970s. As an opera singer he performed with companies throughout Nor ...

, operatic tenor * Daryl Patterson, baseball pitcher *

Sirhan Sirhan Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (; ; born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian-Jordanian man who assassinated Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a younger brother of American president John F. Kennedy and a candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 1968 U ...

, convicted of murdering

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also known as RFK, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States attorney general from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. senator from New Yo ...

, was housed in the Pleasant Valley State Prison *

Jo Stafford Jo Elizabeth Stafford (November 12, 1917July 16, 2008) was an American traditional pop singer, whose career spanned five decades from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. Admired for the purity of her voice, she originally underwent classical tr ...

, singer, television personality, Grammy Award winner * Pat and

Lolly Vegas Candido Albelando "Lolly" Vasquez-Vegas (October 2, 1939 – March 4, 2010) was a Native American musician of Yaqui, Shoshone and Mexican heritage. He played in numerous ensembles with his brother Pat, including Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Avantis, ...

, musicians and vocalists of the Native American/

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

rock band '' Redbone''. They were inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame in 2008.

References

External links

*
Coalinga Chamber of Commerce.com: History of Coalinga

Coalinga Huron Library: Library

The Bancroft Library, oac.cdlib.org: Historical Photographs of Coalinga (1910–1925)
{{authority control 1888 establishments in California Cities in Fresno County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1888 San Joaquin Valley