Phelan, California

History

Origin

Phelan's history dates back to the days of the Mormon Trail, when settlers passed through the area on their way to San Bernardino and points beyond. Phelan was named after Senator James D. Phelan and his brother, John Thomas (J.T) Phelan.

Geography

Situated south of State Route 18 and northeast of State Route 138, the town is 30 mi east of Palmdale and 18 mi west of Victorville. The area around it is nearly flat desert country dotted with joshua trees and heavy brush.

In 2001, according to a feature in the Los Angeles Times, the town was a "wind-swept, tiny unincorporated town nestled in the shadow of a mountain ski resort, just above the vast expanse that is the Mojave Desert. ... There are no shopping malls here, and the closest movie theater is in Victorville, about 15 miles away." Another Times feature said in 1990:

Phelan, along with Victorville, Hesperia, Apple Valley, and several other towns, is considered part of a region known as the High Desert.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 60.1 square miles (155.6 km), all of it land.

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1850–1870 1880-1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Phelan first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.

The 2020 United States census reported that Phelan had a population of 13,859. The population density was 230.6 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Phelan was 57.2% White, 1.6% African American, 1.6% Native American, 4.5% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 21.9% from other races, and 12.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38.7% of the population.

The census reported that 99.5% of the population lived in households, 60 people (0.4%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 4 people (0.0%) were institutionalized.

There were 4,500 households, out of which 34.1% included children under the age of 18, 53.9% were married-couple households, 6.7% were cohabiting couple households, 19.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 20.2% had a male householder with no partner present. 18.9% of households were one person, and 8.6% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.07.

The age distribution was 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.9% aged 18 to 24, 23.4% aged 25 to 44, 28.1% aged 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 39.6years. For every 100 females, there were 106.3 males.

There were 5,033 housing units at an average density of 83.8 /mi2, of which 4,500 (89.4%) were occupied. Of these, 78.2% were owner-occupied, and 21.8% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 11.6% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 74.5% spoke only English at home, 23.1% spoke Spanish, 0.1% spoke other Indo-European languages, 1.8% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 0.4% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 89.7% were high school graduates and 13.9% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income in 2023 was $83,759, and the per capita income was $28,310. About 10.5% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the poverty line.

Education

The CDP is in the Snowline Joint Unified School District, which also serves Wrightwood, Piñon Hills, a portion of Oak Hills, Baldy Mesa, and the West Cajon Valley. The area's schools include Piñon Mesa Middle School, Serrano High School (named after the Serrano people), Quail Valley Middle School, Baldy Mesa Elementary, Piñon Hills Elementary, Wrightwood Elementary, Vista Verde Elementary, Heritage School, Chaparral High School, Desert View Independent School, Eagle Summit Community Day School, and Phelan Elementary.

In 1972, the town was a part of the Phelan School District, 136 sqmi of mostly desert land, with 117 pupils in its elementary school. In April of that year, aggrieved parents kept their children home for one day to protest a decision by the school trustees to bypass popular teacher and acting administrator Carl Rasmussen for appointment as full-time principal of the school.

Athletics

High school football featuring the local team, the Diamondbacks, has been an important part of Phelan's social life. An active youth sports program has provided a "feeder system" for the high school athletes.

Library

Phelan is served by two branch libraries of the San Bernardino County system. The first is a shared facility at Serrano High School, and the second, a 5,000 sqft-building at Lindero Street and Clovis Road, was opened in August 2009. The first memorial library in the county system, the facility is dedicated to local service veterans. Its collection was helped by donations through the Friends of the Library organization. The general contractor was Mark Forbes, with his partners, Robert Masseth and Bob Raymondo. Staffing was increased so that the branch would be open 48 hours a week, compared with just 27 hours at the Serrano branch.

In 2003 Lenore Coale, president of the Friends of the Serrano Library, noted that many patrons received government assistance and relied heavily on the library, which had just suffered a countywide cutback in funding. She said volunteers were using opened books or stuffed animals to fill the gaps in the shelves.

However, in recent years the County Library's budget for purchasing has increased and the library continues to thrive. More information about the library and the services it offers can be found here.

Communication

The ZIP Code is 92371 and 92329 and the community is inside area codes 442 and 760.

References

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
2. "US Census Bureau".
3. {{gnis. 2627935
4. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/166480867 "Girl, 3, Lost on Desert," ''Los Angeles Times,'' April 18, 1953, page 1] Library card required
5. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-01-mn-1741-story.html John Morell, "From Desert to O.C.," ''Los Angeles Times,'' February 1, 1990, Orange County edition, page 1]
6. "Decennial Census by Decade".
7. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County".
8. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County".
9. "1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions".
10. "1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions".
11. "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California".
12. "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
13. "1930 Census of Population - Number and Distribution of Inhabitants - California".
14. "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
15. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
16. "1960 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
17. "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
18. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
19. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
20. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
21. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
22. "Phelan CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
23. "Phelan CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
24. "Phelan CDP, California; CP02: Comparative Social Characteristics in the United States - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles".
25. "Phelan CDP, California; DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles".
26. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: San Bernardino County, CA". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
27. "Snowline Joint Unified School District".
28. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/157010504 "Students Kept at Home in Protest,"] ''[[Los Angeles Times]],'' April 18, 1972, page A-2 Library card required
29. [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-09-sp-2002-story.html Mike Hiserman, "Desert High," ''Los Angeles Times,'' November 9, 2001, page D-1]
30. ""New Phelan Memorial Library Now Open," county press release".
31. [https://www.proquest.com/docview/421831410 Hugo Martin, "Rise and Fall of a Library Budget," ''Los Angeles Times,'' September 17, 2003, Inland Empire edition, page B-1] Library card required