Georgetown, California

Georgetown (formerly Growlersburg) is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California, United States. It is the northeasternmost town in the California Mother Lode. The population was 2,546 in the 2020 census, up from 2,367 in 2010, and 962 in 2000. The town is registered as California Historical Landmark #484.

History

Founded August 7, 1849, by George Phipps and party, Georgetown was nicknamed "Growlersburg" due to the heavy, gold-laden quartz rocks that "growled" in the miners' pants as they walked around town. Georgetown is named for George Washington. The first post office was established in 1851.

After a disastrous fire in 1852, the old town was moved from the canyon in lower Main Street to its present site, and, unique in early-day planning, Main Street was laid out wide, with side streets . After this new reconstruction, the residents of the city proclaimed their town as the "Pride of the Mountains".

The hub of an immensely rich gold mining area, Georgetown had a population of about three thousand from 1854 to 1856. As a gold rush camp, the community outlasted many other towns, because the gold found nearby was solid primary deposits, as opposed to placer deposits. Gold production continued until after the turn of the 20th century.

During the Civil War the people of the town wanted to show their support for the Union. They raised the Stars and Stripes with the inscription "Justice and Equality" on July 4, 1861.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which over 99% is land.

For the 2000 census, the CDP's area was smaller. It had a total area of , of which was land and 0.24% was water.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification system, Georgetown has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. Due to orographic lifting, Georgetown gets about four times the amount of precipitation as the western valley locations. A small amount of it falls as snow that melts quickly due to the above freezing temperatures, but for no more than four inches a year. The high precipitation allows for vegetation to flourish, but when a lot of it becomes dry during the hot and dry summers, wildfires become a prominent risk.

Demographics

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

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Georgetown had a population of 2,255. The population density was . The racial makeup of Georgetown was 81.6% White, 1.8% African American, 1.7% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.5% from other races, and 10.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.3% of the population.

The census reported that 95.0% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4.5% were institutionalized.

There were 874 households, out of which 23.1% included children under the age of 18, 53.0% were married-couple households, 8.8% were cohabiting couple households, 20.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 17.8% had a male householder with no partner present. 22.7% of households were one person, and 12.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45. There were 596 families (68.2% of all households).

The age distribution was 17.9% under the age of 18, 5.1% aged 18 to 24, 20.8% aged 25 to 44, 30.0% aged 45 to 64, and 26.3% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 50.4years. For every 100 females, there were 111.9 males.

There were 1,028 housing units at an average density of , of which 874 (85.0%) were occupied. Of these, 79.4% were owner-occupied, and 20.6% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 43.0% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 24.5% spoke only English at home, 74.0% spoke Spanish, 1.2% spoke other Indo-European languages, 0.1% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.2% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 60.5% were high school graduates and 8.8% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income was $63,082, and the per capita income was $22,985. About 14.8% of families and 16.3% of the population were below the poverty line.

Politics

In the state legislature, Georgetown is in , and .

Federally, Georgetown is in .

Education

The Black Oak Mine Unified School District, headquartered in Georgetown,Welcome to the Black Oak Mine Unified School District
." Black Oak Mine Unified School District. Retrieved on October 27, 2010. serves Georgetown.Home page
Black Oak Mine Unified School District. July 20, 2002. Retrieved on October 27, 2010.

Notable people

* Ferris Fain

References

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Census-designated places in El Dorado County, California
California Historical Landmarks
Populated places established in 1849
1849 establishments in California
Census-designated places in California