Groveland-Big Oak Flat, California

Groveland is a census-designated place (CDP) in Tuolumne County, California, United States. The 2020 United States census recorded a population of 540.

thumb|left|alt=Two-story white clapboard hotel building with a covered front porch fronting a small-town main street|Hotel Charlotte in Groveland, a Gold Rush-era inn and stagecoach stop on the Big Oak Flat Road

During the California Gold Rush, the settlement was known as Garrote, a name derived from a vigilante execution that occurred there in the early 1850s. The Iron Door Saloon, established during that period, operated in a stone building constructed to withstand fire, a common precaution in Gold Rush towns. As the community grew, the name Garrote came to be considered a liability; in 1875 the community renamed itself Groveland after Groveland, Illinois, the hometown of several early settlers. The site is designated California Historical Landmark No. 446. The Hotel Charlotte (listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994) and the Groveland Hotel (listed 1994) served as stagecoach stops along the route. The road was later paved for automobile traffic and incorporated into the state highway system as California State Route 120.

thumb|alt=Stone-fronted saloon building with a painted sign and iron door on a small-town commercial street|The [[Iron Door Saloon in Groveland's historic district]]

The Raker Act of 1913 authorized San Francisco to dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley and construct a regional water supply system across Tuolumne County. Construction of the O'Shaughnessy Dam and the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct brought thousands of construction workers to the Tuolumne River corridor, and Groveland served as a staging and supply hub for the project through the 1910s and 1930s. The Moccasin Creek Powerhouse, built 1925 at Moccasin just west of Groveland, remains in operation as part of the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System. Water first reached San Francisco via the new system in 1934.

After the completion of the Hetch Hetchy system, Groveland returned to a quieter role as a highway stop on the route to Yosemite. In the late 1960s, Boise Cascade developed Pine Mountain Lake east of Groveland as a planned residential community with a golf course, airport, and lake, significantly expanding the area's permanent population. Groveland was designated as a census-designated place before the 2010 United States census, when the former Groveland-Big Oak Flat CDP was dissolved and its component communities redesignated separately. As traffic to Yosemite along SR 120 expanded through the late twentieth century, Groveland consolidated its role as the principal commercial and service center for the Big Oak Flat corridor.

Geography

Groveland lies in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of above sea level,

|source 2 = National Weather Service (mean maxima/minima 2006–2020)

Demographics

Groveland first appeared as a census-designated place in the 2010 census, formed from part of the dissolved Groveland-Big Oak Flat CDP and additional area.

The 2020 United States census recorded a population of 540, at a density of . The racial makeup was 458 (84.8%) White, 1 (0.2%) Black or African American, 9 (1.7%) Native American, 3 (0.6%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 11 (2.0%) from other races, and 58 (10.7%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44 persons (8.1%).

The age distribution was 96 (17.8%) under 18, 36 (6.7%) aged 18 to 24, 125 (23.1%) aged 25 to 44, 133 (24.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 150 (27.8%) aged 65 or older. The median age was 46.8 years. For every 100 females there were 122.2 males.

Groveland is the headquarters of the Groveland Ranger District of the Stanislaus National Forest.

In the California State Legislature, the area is in , and in . In the United States House of Representatives, the area is in .

Transportation

Groveland lies on California State Route 120 (the Big Oak Flat Road), the principal route from the San Joaquin Valley to the Big Oak Flat entrance of Yosemite National Park, and is the last significant service center before the park entrance. The highway is subject to seasonal closure east of the community during winter months.

Recreation

thumb|alt=Modern single-story building with large windows and a sign identifying the Groveland Community Resilience Center|The Groveland Community Resilience Center, a multiuse community facility

Camp Mather (City of San Francisco), San Jose Family Camp (City of San Jose), Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp (City of Berkeley), and Camp Tawonga, a Jewish overnight camp, are located east of Groveland along SR 120 within the Stanislaus National Forest. The Groveland Ranger District of the Stanislaus National Forest, headquartered in Groveland, administers recreation lands in the surrounding area including Cherry Lake.

Education

The area is served by the Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District, which operates Tenaya Elementary School (kindergarten through grade eight) and Tioga High School in Groveland, and Don Pedro High School in La Grange, across a district following the Tuolumne River from the northern entrance of Yosemite National Park to the Lake Don Pedro area.

References

External links

Groveland Community Services District