Rodeo (IPA: /roʊˈdeɪoʊ/) is a
census-designated place (CDP) located in Contra Costa County, California on the shore of San Pablo Bay. The population was 8,717
at the 2000 census. The town is named for the livestock roundups common in the late 1800s. (See rodeo.) 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
right up through the early decades of the 20th century. Rodeo is served by the Interstate 80 freeway and California State Highway
4. The Southern Pacific Railroad main line passes through Rodeo, however Rodeo has not been a stop on the railroad since the
1950's.
History
Rodeo owes much of its history to brothers John and Patrick Tormey, who purchased tracts of land from the Martinez estate
(also called the Rinole Grant or Rancho El Pinole) in 1865 and 1867.[1]
Becoming successful ranchers and businessmen, they would amass sizable fortunes and eventually have public offices. Patrick
Tormey however had visions of this area of Contra Costa County becoming
the meat-packing 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.[1]
Patrick Tormey also sold land in the nearby town of Oleum, CA, 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, CA, which was used by the Selby Smelting & Lead Co. He also personally funded the meat packing plant, corrals
and the Rodeo Hotel.[1]
After recession in 1893, Patrick Tormey struggled to keep finances going. Unfortunately, business began to close, culminating
with the Union Stockyard Co. in bankruptcy. Patrick Tormey (for which the nearby town of Tormey, CA, is named) would be plagued
with lawsuits over the failed Union Stockyard Co. for the remainder of his life.[1] Residents however were able to continue to find work in nearby towns of
Crockett, CA (C&H Sugar), Vallejo,
CA (the Mare Island Naval Shipyard), Hercules, CA (Hercules Powder Co.), and
the aforementioned Union Oil Co. in Oleum, CA.[1]
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.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of
19.1 km² (7.4 mi²), all land. Public education is
provided by Rodeo Hills Elementary School and John Swett High School in the neighboring town of Crockett.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 8,717 people, 2,882 households, and 2,204 families residing
in the CDP. The population density was 456.7/km² (1,183.3/mi²). There were 2,984
housing units at an average density of 156.3/km² (405.1/mi²). 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. About 6.0% of families and 6.8% of the population were below the poverty
line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
PETA and Rodeo
In October 2003, animal rights group PETA 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, they 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 burgers to local schools if the name was changed. Residents of Rodeo were not warm
to the proposal and it appeared to have little chance of succeeding.[citation needed]
Famous residents
Rodeo was the hometown of baseball Hall of Fame pitcher
Lefty Gomez for the New York Yankees,
Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and
Mike Dirnt, as well as wackpacker Eric the Midget. Professional skateboarder Corey Duffel currently
resides in Rodeo.
References
- ^ a b c d e A History of Rodeo, CA by Michael Tormey addmitted he
is gay with a horse named jaffa
External links
Coordinates:
38.031271° N 122.262139°
W
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