| Community part 2 |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by Melissa Denton | |||
| Monday, 08 March 2010 15:48 | |||
|
I know I am not alone when I say I was born and raised in Hanford. I know I am also not the only one who has said, I cant wait to get out of here. Ever wonder if people actually leave? I often do, because I have yet to leave, its in my future plans but the success of the plan is very low I fear. Have you noticed that the people who have left come back? Oh they do .I swear there is something in our water. But if you are a person who was not born and raised here, Im sure the only thing you notice about the water is its smell or color or you are so scared of the water you own stock in bottled water companies. The history of Hanford err Kings County is interesting. For instance, Kings County used to be Tulare County and it wasnt until 1893 that Kings County was able to break away. Lemoore was founded in 1872 and was incorporated in 1900. Hanford got on the map when the Southern Pacific Railroad came in and the paymaster James Madison Hanford picked Hanford to have the railroad lines in 1877 and became incorporated in 1891. Ever wonder why Hanford and Lemoore have a rivalry? Lemoore was established first so the County seat should have been in their city, but Hanford got the county seat because it had the railroad line. Corcoran became incorporated in 1914 and Avenel in 1928. I wish I knew more about their histories, but I dont I do know that Corcoran is located near the Tule Lake basin so their land is great for agriculture and Avenel was built around oil fields and when the oil dried up so did the town. Kings County has a diverse population. According to the 2000 census there are Caucasians, African-Americans, Native Americans, Asian, Pacific Islander, Hispanic or Latino, Portuguese, German, Irish, and American. We have more males than females, but that could be because of the three prisons in our county. In 2000, we had a county population of 129,461 and in 2008 only 45,444 registered voters. Kings County hasnt voted for a democratic president since 1968 and about ¾ of the county voted in favor of Prop. 8 in 2008. So whats the point of this? I dont know I started out writing about what a community is and I found myself wanting to write about our history. Gay Hanford will find a place in the history of Kings County, with the help and support of the LGBTQ and friendly supporters, Gay Hanford will succeed.
|