Editing Selma, California

{{Short description|City in California, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name = Selma, California
|official_name            = City of Selma
|settlement_type          = [[List of municipalities in California|City]]
|motto                    = "Raisin Capital Of The World"
|image_skyline            = File:Selma Arts Center.jpg
|imagesize                = 250x200px
|image_caption            = Selma Arts Center
|image_seal               = Seal of Selma, California.png
|image_shield = Coat of arms of Selma, California.png
|image_map                = Fresno_County_California_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Selma_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250x200px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Fresno County, California|Fresno County]] and the state of California
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
| pushpin_map = USA
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in the United States
| pushpin_relief = 1
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = State
|subdivision_name1        = California
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in California|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Fresno County, California|Fresno]]
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = Mayor
|leader_name              = Scott Robertson<ref name=CC>{{Cite web
 |url=http://www.cityofselma.com/council/index.htm
 |access-date=July 16, 2017
|title=City Council
 |publisher=City of Selma}}</ref>
|leader_title1            = Mayor Pro Tem
|leader_name1             = Jim Avalos<ref name=CC/>
|leader_title2            = [[California's 14th State Senate district|State Senator]]
|leader_name2             = {{Representative|casd|14|fmt=sleader}}<ref>{{Cite web
 |url=http://senate.ca.gov/senators 
 |title=Senators 
 |access-date=April 6, 2013
|publisher=State of California}}</ref>
|leader_title3            = [[California's 31st State Assembly district|State&nbsp;Assembly]]
|leader_name3             = {{Representative|caad|31|fmt=sleader}}<ref>{{Cite web
 |url=http://assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers
 |title=Members Assembly
 |access-date=April 6, 2013
|publisher=State of California}}</ref>
|leader_title4            = [[California's 21st congressional district|U. S. Congress]]
|leader_name4             = {{Representative|cacd|21|fmt=usleader}}<ref>{{Cite GovTrack|CA|21|accessdate=April 6, 2013}}</ref>
|established_title        = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date         = March 15, 1893<ref>{{Cite web
 |url         = http://www.calafco.org/docs/Cities_by_incorp_date.doc
 |title       = California Cities by Incorporation Date
 |format      = Word
 |publisher   = California Association of [[Local Agency Formation Commission]]s
 |access-date  = April 6, 2013
|url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20141103002921/http://www.calafco.org/docs/Cities_by_incorp_date.doc
 |archive-date = November 3, 2014
}}</ref>
<!-- Area------------------>
|area_magnitude           = 
| unit_pref               = Imperial
| area_footnotes          =<ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_06.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 1, 2020}}</ref>
| area_total_sq_mi        = 5.77
| area_land_sq_mi         = 5.77
| area_water_sq_mi        = 0.00
| area_total_km2          = 14.94
| area_land_km2           = 14.94
| area_water_km2          = 0.00
| area_water_percent      = 0
| area_note               = 
|elevation_footnotes      =<ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 308
|elevation_m              = 94
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="US Census Bureau 2020 Selma, CA Population">{{cite web |title=US Census Bureau |url=https://data.census.gov/all?q=Selma%20city,%20California |website=www.census.gov |access-date=21 August 2024}}</ref>
|population_total         = 24674
|population_metro         = 
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi = auto
|timezone                 = [[Pacific Time Zone|PST]]
|utc_offset               = -8
|coordinates              = {{coord|36|34|15|N|119|36|43|W|region:US-CA|display=inline,title}}
|timezone_DST             = PDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -7
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 93662
|area_code                = [[Area code 559|559]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 06-70882
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature IDs
|blank1_info              = {{GNIS 4|1659624}}, {{GNIS 4|2411863}}
|footnotes                = 
|website                  = {{URL|www.cityofselma.com}}
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|pop_est_footnotes        =
|population_est           = 
}}

'''Selma''' is a city in [[Fresno County, California]]. The population was 24,674 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=Selma%20city,%20California |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref> up from 23,319 at the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]] and 19,240 at the [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]]. Selma is located {{convert|16|mi|km|0}} southeast of [[Fresno, California|Fresno]],<ref name=CGN>{{California's Geographic Names|1103–1104}}</ref> at an elevation of 308 feet (94 m).<ref name=gnis>{{Cite GNIS|1659624|Selma}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city covers an area of {{convert|5.136|sqmi|km2}}, all of it land.<ref name=gazetteer>{{Cite US Gazetteer|2010|places|CA}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
| 1890 = 1150
| 1900 = 1083
| 1910 = 1750
| 1920 = 3158
| 1930 = 3047
| 1940 = 3667
| 1950 = 5964
| 1960 = 6934
| 1970 = 7459
| 1980 = 10942
| 1990 = 14757
| 2000 = 19444
| 2010 = 23219
| 2020 = 24674
| estyear = 2023
| estimate = 24467
| estref = <ref name="USCensusEst2023">{{Cite web |title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html |access-date=March 24, 2024 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref>
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2010===
At the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]] Selma had a population of 23,219. The population density was {{convert|4,520.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of Selma was 12,869 (55.4%) White, 284 (1.2%) African American, 479 (2.1%) Native American, 1,057 (4.6%) Asian, 9 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 7,630 (32.9%) from other races, and 891 (3.8%) from two or more races.  There were 18,014 Hispanic or Latino residents of any race (77.6%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=06:0670882|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140715033114/http://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/ipmtext.php?fl=06:0670882|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 15, 2014|title=2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA – Selma city|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=July 12, 2014}}</ref>

The census reported that 23,054 people (99.3% of the population) lived in households, 50 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 115 (0.5%) were institutionalized.

There were 6,416 households, 3,411 (53.2%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 3,553 (55.4%) were [[marriage|opposite-sex married couples]] living together, 1,158 (18.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 560 (8.7%) had a male householder with no wife present.  There were 516 (8.0%) [[POSSLQ|unmarried opposite-sex partnerships]], and 27 (0.4%) [[same-sex partnerships|same-sex married couples or partnerships]]. 939 households (14.6%) were one person and 481 (7.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.59.  There were 5,271 families (82.2% of households); the average family size was 3.89.

The age distribution was 7,442 people (32.1%) under the age of 18, 2,677 people (11.5%) aged 18 to 24, 6,321 people (27.2%) aged 25 to 44, 4,483 people (19.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,296 people (9.9%) who were 65 or older.  The median age was 29.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.8 males.

There were 6,813 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,326.4|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}},of which 6,416 were occupied, 3,825 (59.6%) by the owners and 2,591 (40.4%) by renters.  The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%.  13,229 people (57.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 9,825 people (42.3%) lived in rental housing units.

===2000===
As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 31, 2008|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2006, there were 23,194 people in 5,596 households, including 4,538 families, in the city.  The population density was {{convert|4,475.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  There were 5,815 housing units at an average density of {{convert|1,338.5|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.  The [[Race and ethnicity in the United States Census#2010 census|racial makeup]] of the city was 43.90% White, 0.75% Black or African American, 1.56% Native American, 3.18% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 46.09% from other races, and 4.48% from two or more races.  71.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 5,596 households 45.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 15.7% of households were one person and 8.7% were one person aged 65 or older.  The average household size was 3.45 and the average family size was 3.76.

The age distribution was 33.1% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% 65 or older.  The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.5 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,713, and the median family income was $36,510. Males had a median income of $26,966 versus $22,672 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,834.  About 17.4% of families and 22.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.0% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

==History and culture==
Selma owes its beginnings as the second city in Fresno County<ref>{{cite web |title=Fresno County: A snapshot of the County in the Year 1900 |url=https://www.valleyhistory.org/history-of-fresno-county |website=Fresno County Historical Society |access-date=23 November 2024}}</ref> to farming and to the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]], which began in the 1870s as a branch line of the [[Central Pacific Railroad]]. The route of the Southern Pacific through California's [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] gave rise to a string of small towns between [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] and [[Bakersfield, California|Bakersfield]]. Selma was among them.

In 1880, residents of the rural community that would become Selma established the Valley View School District. The first post office opened in 1880.<ref name=CGN /> A decade later, four farmers – Jacob E. Whitson, Egbert H. Tucker, George Otis and Monroe Snyder – formed a partnership and developed a [[townsite]] along the railroad. They began auctioning lots and just three years later the city of Selma was formally [[Municipal corporation|incorporated]].

A persistent local legend is that Selma was named after Selma Gruenberg Lewis ({{Circa|1867}}–1944) by Governor [[Leland Stanford]], who was shown her picture by her father. As Lewis first told the story in 1925, Stanford, also a Director of the [[Central Pacific Railroad]], was so taken that he ordered that the next town on the line be named for her. Lewis often repeated the story with further romantic embellishments, and it came to be accepted as fact despite a lack of documentary evidence. Lewis is buried in Floral Memorial Park in Selma, and her marker repeats the story. Subsequent investigation indicates instead that the town was in fact named for Selma Michelsen (1853–1910), wife of a railroad employee who had submitted her name for inclusion on a list of candidate names prepared by his supervisor. George Otis selected the name from this list, in consultation with other local businessmen.<ref>J Randall McFarland (1980) Centennial Selma, Biography of a California Community's first 100 years. Privately published in association with ''[http://selmaenterprise.com/ The Selma Enterprise]''</ref>

Along with [[Fowler, California|Fowler]] to its immediate north and [[Kingsburg, California|Kingsburg]] to its south, Selma was a railroad stop where agricultural goods could be loaded for shipping. As in the rest of the United States, the railroad played a lesser role as the 20th century progressed. What was once a handsome passenger terminal in Selma's downtown became the city's police station.

In the late 19th century, the town also boasted a water-driven mill for grinding wheat to flour. The mill was powered by the C&K Canal, a seasonal [[irrigation]] channel that was known in Selma as the Mill Ditch. Groundwater Irrigation Beginnings had its start in Selma. It was here where the San Joaquin Valley's groundwater reservoir was first tapped with a pumping plant. William De La Grange of Selma was tired of irrigationists draining Kings River water from the canal he used so he drilled an open bottom well. With the plant attracting attention, groundwater irrigation was common and pumps were powered by electricity.<ref>{{cite web |title=Groundwater Irrigation Beginnings |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=28594 |website=The Historical Marker Database |access-date=23 November 2024}}</ref>

===Agribusiness===
Wheat growing was Selma's first economic engine but was replaced by [[orchards]] and [[vineyard]]s when farmers realized how well [[peach]]es, [[plum]]s, and grapes grew in the sandy soil, irrigated with snow-melt water imported through canals from the nearby [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] mountain range.

Although [[raisin]]s soon became the major crop, Selma called itself the "Home of the Peach" and was also known as "A Peach of a City." Through the 1960s, the local peach [[Canning|cannery]], where [[Libby's]]-brand fruit was packed, was a major seasonal employer. Peaches and other tree fruit are still grown in abundance.

With 90 percent of U.S. raisins produced within {{Convert|8|mi|km|spell=in}} of Selma, the city adopted the slogan "Raisin Capital of the World" in 1963. Area vineyards also produce table grapes. A decline in family farming, the national trend in U.S. agriculture after World War II, and depressed prices for raisins and table grapes, especially in the last decades of the twentieth century, were drains on the Selma-area [[agribusiness]] economy. [[Harris Ranch]] is based in Selma.

===Shifting business center===
Like many other American cities, Selma suffered a decline in its old downtown in the late decades of the 20th century and into the 21st century. Post–[[World War II]] development spread the growing city to the north and east, away from its business center. [[U.S. Route 99|U.S. Highway 99]], once a main road running north–south through town, parallel to the railroad, was rebuilt as a freeway (now [[State Route 99|SR 99]]) in the 1960s. Several blocks to the west of the old road (now Whitson Street and Golden State Boulevard), the freeway bisects the oldest residential neighborhood in Selma. Freeway travel made the new shopping malls of [[Fresno, California|Fresno]] more accessible. The freeway also made Selma more attractive as a place to live for Fresno workers, who contributed to ever-faster residential growth into the 21st century.

The downtown experienced one of its biggest changes when [[Walmart]] built a large retail store at the intersection of East Floral Avenue and the freeway—at the northwest edge of town. As the 21st century began, this area became the ''de facto'' commercial center of the city providing great economic benefits. The old downtown, despite vacant storefronts, remained a struggling but viable district of city offices and small businesses.

===Media===
The weekly newspaper is ''The Selma Enterprise''. Residents are also served by the daily ''[[The Fresno Bee|Fresno Bee]]'' and by Fresno-based television and radio stations.

===Public schools===
The [[Selma Unified School District]] has eight neighborhood elementary schools. Students from all of these schools are channeled to Abraham Lincoln Middle School and continue on to [[Selma High School (Selma, California)|Selma High School]] or two alternative high schools. Selma High School fields a range of sports teams nicknamed the Bears. School colors are orange and black. The yearbook is entitled the ''Magnet''.

==Notable people==
Well-known people who have lived in and around Selma include 19th-century inventors [[Frank Dusy]], [[Abijah McCall]] and [[William Deidrick]]; the poets [[William Everson (poet)|William Everson]] (Brother Antoninus, 1912–94) and [[Larry Levis]] (1946–96); [[William R. Shockley]] (1918–1945), recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor in World War II; author–historian [[Victor Davis Hanson]] (1953– ); and [[Atlanta Braves]] manager [[Bobby Cox]] (1941– ). [[Clarence Berry]] (1867–1930), who struck it rich in the [[Klondike Gold Rush]] of 1897 and became known as an innovative mining engineer and businessman, had earlier been a fruit farmer in Selma. Also known as C.J. Berry, he left Selma for Canada's [[Yukon Territory]] after he was forced to declare bankruptcy. [[Beatrice Kozera]] (1920–2013), born Beatrice Rentería, also spent much of her childhood in Selma where her family worked in the fields. In 1947, she met [[Jack Kerouac]] who represented her as "The Mexican Girl" in ''[[On the Road]]'' where Selma is referred to as Sabinal. [[Frankie A. Rodriguez]] (1996– ), an actor from the Disney franchise ''[[High School Musical: The Musical: The Series]]'', is also from Selma.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Official website}}

{{Fresno County, California}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Incorporated cities and towns in California]]
[[Category:Cities in Fresno County, California]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1880]]
[[Category:1880 establishments in California]]