For the former settlement in Amador County, see French Camp, Amador County, California; for the former settlement in Yolo County, see French Camp, Yolo County, California.

French Camp
—  census-designated place  —
Location in San Joaquin County and the state of California
Coordinates: 37°52′58″N 121°16′47″W / 37.88278°N 121.27972°W / 37.88278; -121.27972Coordinates: 37°52′58″N 121°16′47″W / 37.88278°N 121.27972°W / 37.88278; -121.27972
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Joaquin
Government
• N/A
• Senate	Lois Wolk (D)
• Assembly	Cathleen Galgiani (D)
• U. S. Congress	Dennis Cardoza (D)
Area[1]
• Total	3.143 sq mi (8.140 km2)
• Land	3.142 sq mi (8.138 km2)
• Water	0.001 sq mi (0.002 km2)  0.03%
Elevation	20 ft (6 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	3,376
• Density	1,100/sq mi (410/km2)
Time zone	PST (UTC−8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC−7)
ZIP code	95231
Area code(s)	209
FIPS code	06-26028
GNIS feature ID	1658581
California Historical Landmark
Reference #:	688

French Camp is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Joaquin County, California, United States. The population was 3,376 at the 2010 census, down from 4,109 at the 2000 census. San Joaquin General Hospital is located in French Camp.

In recent years, Stockton has attempted to incorporate French Camp, allegedly in order to tax the current residents of the town.^{[citation needed]}

French Camp is the location of the U.S. Army Sharpe Depot and the GSA Western Distribution Center, and is the oldest settlement in San Joaquin County.^{[citation needed]}

Geography [link]

French Camp is located at 37°52′58″N 121°16′47″W / 37.88278°N 121.27972°W / 37.88278; -121.27972 (37.882742, -121.279788)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.1 square miles (8.0 km²), 99.97% of it land and 0.03% of it water.

History [link]

French Camp was the southernmost regular camp site of the Hudson's Bay Company southern fur brigades sent from Fort Vancouver (now Portland, Oregon), established by Michel Laframboise in 1832. Its Spanish name was preserved in a land grant dated January 13, 1844 as Camp de Los Franceses.^[3] It is commemorated as California State Historic Landmark 668:

Here was the terminus of the Oregon-California trail used by the French-Canadian trappers employed by the Hudson's Bay Company from about 1832 to 1845. Michel Laframboise, among others, met fur hunters here annually, where they camped with their families. In 1844 Charles Maria Weber and William Gulnac promoted the first white settlers' colony on "Rancho del Campo de Los Franceses" which included French Camp and the site of Stockton.

French Camp was also known as Castoria, the Latin word for "beaver" being "castor", reflecting its central role in the California Fur Rush.^[4]

Notable residents [link]

• Gilbert Luján
• Jose Hernández, astronaut
• Scott Brooks- Head Coach of Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA)
• Sammy L Davis- Medal of Honor recipient

Demographics [link]

2010 [link]

The 2010 United States Census^[5] reported that French Camp had a population of 3,376. The population density was 1,074.2 people per square mile (414.7/km²). The racial makeup of French Camp was 1,678 (49.7%) White, 410 (12.1%) African American, 31 (0.9%) Native American, 163 (4.8%) Asian, 11 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 920 (27.3%) from other races, and 163 (4.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,748 persons (51.8%).

The Census reported that 1,622 people (48.0% of the population) lived in households, 336 (10.0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 1,418 (42.0%) were institutionalized.

There were 509 households, out of which 202 (39.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 262 (51.5%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 64 (12.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 46 (9.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 46 (9.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 3 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 104 households (20.4%) were made up of individuals and 43 (8.4%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.19. There were 372 families (73.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.71.

The population was spread out with 731 people (21.7%) under the age of 18, 604 people (17.9%) aged 18 to 24, 1,145 people (33.9%) aged 25 to 44, 660 people (19.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 236 people (7.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.1 years. For every 100 females there were 193.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 208.6 males.

There were 575 housing units at an average density of 183.0 per square mile (70.6/km²), of which 276 (54.2%) were owner-occupied, and 233 (45.8%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 13.4%. 872 people (25.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 750 people (22.2%) lived in rental housing units.

2000 [link]

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 4,109 people, 576 households, and 438 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,324.5 people per square mile (511.8/km²). There were 598 housing units at an average density of 192.8 per square mile (74.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 44.20% White, 11.97% African American, 0.80% Native American, 4.45% Asian, 0.46% Pacific Islander, 32.12% from other races, and 5.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 44.95% of the population.

There were 576 households out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 19.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.14 and the average family size was 3.57.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 39.2% from 25 to 44, 15.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 182.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 192.1 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $28,295, and the median income for a family was $29,034. Males had a median income of $30,556 versus $17,083 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $9,945. About 27.1% of families and 40.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.3% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

References [link]

External links [link]

• French Camp Journal
• San Joaquin General Hospital
• Mining in French Camp
• San Joaquin County History

v t e Municipalities and communities of San Joaquin County, California, United States County seat: Stockton Cities Escalon Lathrop Lodi Manteca Ripon Stockton Tracy CDPs Acampo August Collierville Country Club Dogtown Farmington French Camp Garden Acres Kennedy Lincoln Village Linden Lockeford Morada Mountain House Peters Taft Mosswood Terminous Thornton Victor Waterloo Woodbridge Unincorporated communities Atlanta Banta Bear Creek Carbona Clements Gillis Goodmans Corner Holt Mormon New Jerusalem North Woodbridge South Woodbridge Vernalis Ghost towns Carnegie Mokelumne City San Joaquin City