Fremont is a city in California which was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Irvington, Mission San Jose, Niles, and Warm Springs. The area now comprising Fremont and the adjoining cities of Newark and Union City was formerly known as Washington Township. Fremont is located in the southeast area of the San Francisco Bay Area in Alameda County.
Home to 203,414 people as of 2000 census, Fremont is the fourth most populous city in the Bay Area. Fremont has the largest Afghan population in the United States and hence became a center of media attention when the US attacked Afghanistan in 2001. The diverse city demographics includes many Indian, Pakistani, and East Asians, concentrated most heavily in the Mission San Jose District.
NUMMI, a joint automobile manufacturing plant for General Motors and Toyota, is located in the Warm Springs district of Fremont.
Actress Julie Pinson and Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi were born in Fremont. Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley grew up in Fremont and was a 1972 graduate of Washington High School. Rap star and Christian minister M.C. Hammer, lived in Fremont during his prime as a music legend, during which such hits as "Can't Touch This" and "2 Legit to Quit" were well known.
Fremont is the sister city to Elizabeth, South Australia.
Fremont is located at 37°32'35" North, 121°58'58" West (37.542943, -121.982786).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 225.6 km2 (87.1 mi2). 198.6 km2 (76.7 mi2) of it is land and 27.0 km2 (10.4 mi2) of it is water. The total area is 11.97% water.
As of the census of 2000, there are 203,413 people, 68,237 households, and 52,201 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,024.1/km2 (2,652.3/mi2). There are 69,452 housing units at an average density of 349.7/km2 (905.6/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 47.67% White, 3.10% Black or African American, 0.52% Native American, 36.95% Asian, 0.40% Pacific Islander, 5.52% from other races, and 5.84% from two or more races. 13.47% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. Fremont is the home to the largest concentration of Afghans in the United States.
There are 68,237 households out of which 40.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% are married couples living together, 9.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% are non-families. 16.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.96 and the average family size is 3.34.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 36.8% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there are 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 99.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $76,579, and the median income for a family is $82,199. Males have a median household income of $59,274 versus $40,625 for females. The per capita income for the city is $31,411. 5.4% of the population and 3.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 5.9% of those under the age of 18 and 6.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
The recorded history of the Fremont area began on June 9, 1797 when Mission San Jos was founded by the Spaniard Father Fermin de Lasuen. The Mission was established at the site of the Ohlone native village of Oroysom. On their second day in the area, the Mission party killed a grizzly bear in Niles Canyon. The Mission prospered, eventually reaching a population of 1,886 inhabitants in 1831. The influence of the missionaries declined after changes were made in the administration of California by the Mexican colonial authorities. The first American visitor to Fremont was the renowned trapper and explorer Jedediah Smith in 1827.
The family of Don Jos de Jesus Vallejo, brother of Mariano Vallejo, was the most influential in Fremont in the late colonial era. His family owned a large rancho and built a mill at the mouth of Niles Canyon. In 1846 they were visited and robbed by the town's namesake John C. Frmont. Fremont grew rapidly at the time of the Gold Rush. Agriculture dominated the economy with grapes, nursery plants and olives as leading crops. In 1868 a magnitude 6.8 earthquake on the Hayward Fault collapsed buildings throughout Fremont, ruining Mission San Jos and its outbuildings. Until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake caused its destruction, Fremont's Palmdale Winery was the largest in California. The ruins of the Palmdale Winery are still visible near the Five Corners in Irvington.
From 1912-1916 the Niles section of Fremont was the earliest home of California's motion picture industry. Charlie Chaplin filmed several movies in Fremont, most notably "The Tramp." Fremont was incorporated in 1956, when 5 towns in the area came together to form a city. Fremont became more industrialized in the 1950's and 1960's when a large General Motors assembly plant (later NUMMI) was constructed. A boom in high-tech employment in the 1980's and 1990's, especially in the Warm Springs District, caused rapid development in the city. In recent years Lam Research Corporation has been the city's second largest employer.
Source:
FremontCalifornia.com
HOTELS • REAL ESTATE • JOBS