Alpine County, California

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Alpine County is a county in the eastern part of the U.S. state of California located within the Sierra Nevada on the state border with Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,204,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> making it California's least populous county. The county seat is Markleeville and the largest community is Alpine Village.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref>

History

File:Woods-Lake-Sierra-Nevada-Alpine-Janine-Sprout.jpg

Woods Lake, situated in Alpine County

The Washoe people, a Great Basin tribe, inhabited the Sierra Nevada on the California–Nevada boundary, with the Hung A Lel Ti band populating the Diamond Valley including what would become Alpine County.

Kit Carson and John C. Frémont were among the first explorers to bring nationwide attention to the Sierra Nevada region in their winter 1844 expedition, though the first known westerners to actually explore the area were Jedediah Smith and Joseph R. Walker. Though gold spurred the infrastructural development of Alpine County, the Comstock Lode found near Virginia City, Nevada and the subsequent silver boom was what triggered Alpine County's growth, even attracting gold miners from neighboring Nevada.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> This prompted the formation on March 16, 1864, from parts of Amador County, Calaveras County, El Dorado County, Mono County and Tuolumne County.<ref name="generalplan" /> It was named Alpine County due to its resemblance to the Swiss Alps.<ref name="BrightGudde1998">Template:Cite book</ref> At its formation, it had a population numbering around 11,000. By 1868, however, the local silver mines had proven unfruitful of replicating the Nevada silver boom and the population fell to about 685 in the 1870 Census, a decline that would steadily continue through the 1950s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1" /> Silver Mountain (established as Köngsberg)<ref name="CGN">Template:California's Geographic Names</ref> was designated the county seat following the discovery of silver nearby by Norwegian miners.<ref name="GT">Template:Ghost Towns of California</ref> Markleeville, established by Jacob Markley in 1861 as a 160-acre claim encompassing a bridge and toll station, became the new county seat in 1875.<ref name="generalplan" /> The collapse of the silver industry and closing of mines was finalized with the demonetization of silver in 1873, and Silver Mountain was abandoned by 1886, with most businesses moving to Markleeville.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="GT" />

Following the devastating collapse of the silver industry, the population began quickly declining until the 1950s, falling to an all-time low of 241 in 1930.<ref name=":1" /> During this time, its small economy limited the county to serving primarily as a trading center for the local farming and lumber industries, as well as fishing and hunting during the 1930s. Several lots in the county were left vacant.<ref name=":0" />

Alpine County finally managed an economic rebound with the construction of the Bear Valley and Kirkwood ski resorts in the late 1960s, the latter of which is split with Amador County. The population shot up from 484 in 1970 to 1,097 in 1980, a 126.65% increase, and has remained around that level.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> The three national forests (Eldorado, Humboldt–Toiyabe and Stanislaus) means 96% of the county is owned by the federal government,<ref name=":2" /> providing opportunities for economic development and tourism to the skiing resorts as well as historical tourism and outdoor recreation.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.7%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref> The federal government owns about 96% of Alpine County, the highest percentage in California,<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref> including three national forests: Eldorado (54,318 acres, or 7.81% of the 695,098-acre total), Stanislaus (119,805 acres, or 13.32% of the 899,427 acre-total) and Humboldt–Toiyabe (233,962 acres, or 3.72% of the 6,290,945 acre-total).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Adjacent counties

El Dorado County – northwest
Douglas County, Nevada – northeast
Mono County – southeast
Tuolumne County – south
Calaveras County – southwest
Amador County – west

National protected areas

Demographics

Template:US Census population

2020 census

**Alpine County, California – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name="2010CensusP2">Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Partial<ref name="2020CensusP2">Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2000	% 2010	Template:Partial
White alone (NH)	867	852	801	71.77%	72.51%	66.53%
Black or African American alone (NH)	7	0	10	0.58%	0.00%	0.83%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	188	210	214	15.56%	17.87%	17.77%
Asian alone (NH)	4	7	12	0.33%	0.60%	1.00%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	1	0	0	0.08%	0.00%	0.00%
Other Race alone (NH)	6	1	7	0.50%	0.09%	0.58%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	41	21	76	3.39%	1.79%	6.31%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	94	84	84	7.78%	7.15%	6.98%
Total	1,208	1,175	1,204	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2019 American Community Survey estimates

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Population<ref name="ACS Age and Sex 5-Year Estimates">Template:Cite web</ref>
Group	Estimate	Percent
Total population	1,039
Sex<ref name="ACS Age and Sex 5-Year Estimates" />
Group	Estimate	Percent
Male	554	53.32%
Female	485	46.68%
Sex ratio (males per 100 females)	92.8	114.2
Age<ref name="ACS Age and Sex 5-Year Estimates" />
Group	Estimate	Percent
Under 5 years	44	4.23%
5 to 9 years	50	4.81%
10 to 14 years	73	7.03%
15 to 19 years	59	5.68%
20 to 24 years	43	4.14%
25 to 29 years	21	2.02%
30 to 34 years	45	4.33%
35 to 39 years	86	8.28%
40 to 44 years	62	5.97%
45 to 49 years	13	1.25%
50 to 54 years	43	4.14%
55 to 59 years	73	7.03%
60 to 64 years	116	11.16%
65 to 69 years	97	9.34%
70 to 74 years	133	12.80%
75 to 79 years	54	5.20%
80 to 84 years	4	0.38%
85 years and over	23	2.21%
Median age (years)	52.2
Age dependency ratio	97.2
Old-age dependency ratio	59.0
Child dependency ratio	38.1
Race<ref name=":99">Template:Cite web</ref>
Group	Estimate	Percent
White	599	57.65%
Black or African American	9	0.87%
American Indian or Alaska Native	353	33.97%
--- Cherokee tribal grouping	0	0.00%
--- Chippewa tribal grouping	0	0.00%
--- Navajo tribal grouping	0	0.00%
--- Sioux tribal grouping	0	0.00%
Asian	10	0.96%
--- Asian Indian	0	0.00%
--- Chinese	0	0.00%
--- Filipino	0	0.00%
--- Japanese	0	0.00%
--- Korean	0	0.00%
--- Vietnamese	5	0.48%
--- Other Asian	5	0.48%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander	6	0.58%
--- Native Hawaiian	6	0.58%
--- Guamanian or Chamorro	0	0.00%
--- Samoan	0	0.00%
--- Other Pacific Islander	0	0.00%
Some other race	9	0.87%
Two or more races	53	5.10%
--- White and Black or African American	0	0.00%
--- White and American Indian and Alaska Native	47	4.52%
--- White and Asian	0	0.00%
--- Black or African American and American Indian and Alaska Native	0	0.00%
Hispanic or Latino and race<ref name=":99" />
Group	Estimate	Percent
Hispanic or Latino	130	12.51%
--- Mexican	116	11.16%
--- Puerto Rican	0	0.00%
--- Cuban	0	0.00%
--- Other Hispanic or Latino	14	1.35%
Not Hispanic or Latino	909	87.49%
--- White	551	53.03%
--- Black or African American	9	0.87%
--- American Indian and Alaska Native	314	30.22%
--- Asian	10	0.96%
--- Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander	0	0.00%
--- Some other race	0	0.00%
--- Two or more races	25	2.41%
Voting Age Population<ref name=":99" />
Group	Estimate	Percent
Voting Age Population	815	78.44%
--- Male	428	41.19%
--- Female	387	37.25%
Nativity and citizenship status<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Group	Estimate	Percent
Native (born in the United States)	986	94.90%
--- Born in California	524	50.43%
--- Born in other U.S. state	446	42.93%
------ Northeastern state	65	6.26%
------ Midwestern state	65	6.26%
------ Southern state	41	3.95%
------ Western state	275	26.47%
--- Native born outside U.S. states	16	1.54%
------ Puerto Rico	0	0.00%
------ U.S. Island Areas	0	0.00%
------ Born abroad of American parents	16	1.54%
Foreign Born	53	5.10%
--- Naturalized U.S. citizen	30	2.89%
------ Europe	16	1.54%
------ Asia	14	1.35%
------ Africa	0	0.00%
------ Oceania	0	0.00%
------ Latin America	0	0.00%
------ Northern America	0	0.00%
--- Not a U.S. citizen	23	2.21%
------ Europe	0	0.00%
------ Asia	5	0.48%
------ Africa	0	0.00%
------ Oceania	0	0.00%
------ Latin America	18	1.73%
------ Northern America	0	0.00%

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2010 Census

The 2010 United States census reported that Alpine County had a population of 1,175. The racial makeup of Alpine County was 881 (75.0%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 240 (20.4%) Native American, 7 (0.6%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 19 (1.6%) from other races, and 28 (2.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 84 persons (7.1%).<ref>Template:USCensus2010CA</ref>

Population reported at 2010 United States census
Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center
Alpine County	1175	881	0	240	7	0	19	28	84
Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center
Alpine Village	114	91	0	19	1	0	2	1	6
Bear Valley	121	119	0	0	1	0	0	1	1
Kirkwood‡	97	94	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
Markleeville	210	192	0	4	2	0	6	6	11
Mesa Vista	200	178	0	15	2	0	0	5	11
Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center	Template:Center
All others not CDPs (combined)	433	217	0	199	1	0	11	15	51
‡ – census results for the portion of this CDP in Alpine County

2000

As of the census<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> of 2000, there were 1,208 people, 483 households, and 295 families residing in the county. The population density was Template:Convert. There were 1,514 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. The racial makeup of the county was 73.7% White, 0.6% Black or African American, 18.9% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from other races, and 5.1% from two or more races. 7.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 12.1% were of German, 12.1% Irish, 9.3% English, 6.5% American and 5.7% Italian ancestry. 95.0% spoke English, 3.1% Spanish and 2.0% Washo as their first language.

There were 483 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.9% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.8% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 29.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 110.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.2 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $41,875, and the median income for a family was $50,250. Males had a median income of $36,544 versus $25,800 for females. The per capita income for the county was $24,431. About 12.0% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

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Politics

Throughout the 20th century, Alpine County was a Republican stronghold in presidential and congressional elections. From 1892 until 2004, the only Democrat to carry Alpine County in a presidential election was Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936. In 1964, Alpine was one of only five counties in the state to back Barry Goldwater. It was among the five most Republican counties in the entire nation in 1892,<ref>Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; 1892 Presidential Election Statistics</ref> 1908,<ref>Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; 1908 Presidential Election Statistics</ref> 1920,<ref>Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; 1920 Presidential Election Statistics</ref> and 1928.<ref>Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections; 1928 Presidential Election Statistics</ref> Warren Harding and Herbert Hoover gained over ninety percent of the county's vote. However, Alpine has become more of a Democratic county in recent elections. It was carried by John Kerry in 2004 and has stayed in the Democratic column since. No Republican has won a majority in the county since 1988. In 2024, Alpine County was the only county in California to swing to the left, giving Kamala Harris a larger margin of victory than Joe Biden in 2020.

In November 2008, Alpine was one of just three counties in California's interior in which voters rejected Proposition 8, the ballot initiative to amend the California Constitution to reject the legal extension of the title of marriage to same-sex couples. Alpine voters rejected Proposition 8 by 56.4 percent to 43.6 percent. The only other inland counties in which Proposition 8 failed to receive a majority of votes were Yolo County and Alpine's neighbor Mono County.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Alpine County is in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite GovTrack</ref> In the State Assembly, the county is in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In the State Senate, the county is in Template:Representative.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Due to its low population density, Alpine County votes entirely by mail, one of two counties in California which do so.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the June 2014 primary elections, about 22% of registered voters statewide went to the polls; in Alpine County, the number was almost 70%, the highest of any county in the state.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Stonewall Nation

Gay activist Don Jackson seriously presented an idea for taking over Alpine County at a December 28, 1969, gay liberation conference in Berkeley, California. The project, which eventually became known as Stonewall Nation, was subsequently surreptitiously used by fellow gay activists Morris Kight and Don Kilhefner as an agitation and propaganda tool with no serious plans to bring the idea to fruition.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Once the political theater aspect of the project was exposed, planning for the Alpine County project came to a halt even among demoralized true believers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Posse Comitatus controversy

In the late 1970s, the Posse Comitatus organization attempted to take over Alpine County by settling there and fielding candidates in local elections.<ref name="TerroristNextDoor">Template:Cite book</ref> The Posse thought winning local elections in Alpine County was their best opportunity to take control of a single county. The group fielded a candidate for sheriff and registered fictitious voters using post office boxes and vacant lots as their addresses. Six people were prosecuted for voter fraud, the false registrations were thrown out, and the incumbent sheriff was re-elected.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Voter registration statistics

Population and registered voters
Total eligible population<ref name="2022reg">Template:Cite web</ref>	1,015
Registered voters<ref name="2022reg" /><ref name="PCT-RV" group="note">Percentage of registered voters with respect to total population. Percentages of party members with respect to registered voters follow.</ref>	915	90.1%
Democratic<ref name="2022reg" />	388	42.4%
Republican<ref name="2022reg" />	216	23.6%
Democratic–Republican spread<ref name="2022reg" />	+172	+18.8%
American Independent<ref name="2022reg" />	50	5.5%
Libertarian<ref name="2022reg" />	18	1.9%
Green<ref name="2022reg" />	8	0.8%
Peace and Freedom<ref name="2022reg" />	3	0.0%
Other<ref name="2022reg" />	2	0.0%
Other<ref name="2022reg" />	3	0.0%
No party preference<ref name="2022reg" />	277	30.3%

Transportation

Major highways

Airport

Alpine County Airport is a general aviation airport in the Eastern Sierra about Template:Convert from the town of Markleeville. The airport consists of a simple airstrip with an apron for small light aircraft to park. The airport has no buildings, no lights, and is rarely used. The airport is popular with astronomers due to the clear, dark skies.Template:Citation needed

Communities

File:Map of Alpine County, California.png

Locator map of communities in Alpine County

All communities in Alpine County are unincorporated: Template:Div col

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The only other counties in California with no incorporated cities are Mariposa and Trinity.

Population ranking

The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Alpine County.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

† county seat

Rank	City/Town/etc.	Municipal type	Population (2020 census)
1	Woodfords Community<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref>	AIAN	225
2	Alpine Village	CDP	224
3	Mesa Vista	CDP	217
4	† Markleeville	CDP	191
5	Kirkwood (partially in Amador County)	CDP	190
6	Bear Valley	CDP	128

Notes

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References