Knightsen, California
Knightsen | |
|---|---|
 Location in Contra Costa County and the state of California | |
| Coordinates: 37°58′08″N 121°40′05″W / 37.96889°N 121.66806°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Contra Costa |
| Government | |
| • State Senate | Jesse Arreguín (D)[1] |
| • State Assembly | Lori Wilson (D)[2] |
| • U. S. Congress | Josh Harder (D)[3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 8.447 sq mi (21.88 km2) |
| • Land | 8.357 sq mi (21.64 km2) |
| • Water | 0.090 sq mi (0.23 km2) 1.07% |
| Elevation | 30 ft (9 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,596 |
| • Density | 190/sq mi (73/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 94548 |
| Area code | 925 |
| FIPS code | 06-38772 |
| GNIS feature IDs | 1658916, 2408496 |
Knightsen is a census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the CDP population was 1,596.
History
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Knightsen, California is a small unincorporated community of 1,568 residents and 1,500 horses in far eastern Contra Costa County, California in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area closest to Oakley, California.[6] The community was founded by George W. Knight, and its name is a portmanteau of his last name and his wife (Christina Christensen).[6] Knightsen has the oldest chapter of the 4-H Club in California.[6] The community worries about urban sprawl from expanding development in neighboring Oakley.[6] However, a significant portion of the community lies within the agricultural conservation zone in the Brentwood, California, general plan.[7]
During the 1880s, settlers began moving in and planting the first almond trees in the area. A few dairies also sprang up. Other crops, such as apricots, grapes and alfalfa were also planted. Until the railroad was built, farmers shipped their produce via water, using Babbes Landing off Dutch Slough, near the north end of what is now Sellers Avenue.[8]
Knightsen was founded in 1898, when the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (Santa Fe Railway) was planning to lay a track through the area to reach Stockton, California. According to local historian, Kathy Leighton, the railroad wanted to name the community Meganos, commemorating the nearby ranch owned by Doctor John Marsh. Local settlers wanted to keep the name Knightsen. Through correspondence with officials in Washington, D.C., a post office named Knightsen was established before the railroad was complete, and George Knight was named first postmaster in mid-1899. He immediately constructed the first retail store in Knightsen, a grocery, in which he could also locate the post office, which opened in 1900.[9][8]
The first buildings in Knightsen were a station house, a railroad station and a pumping plant, all belonging to the Santa Fe. After Knight's grocery, came the Lyon Brothers asparagus plant, which could ship two to four carloads of asparagus per day during the harvest season. The railroad made shipping crops much easier. Soon, six dairies were shipping an average of 2,500 U.S. gallons (9,500 L) of milk per day. During the 1920s, Knightsen was one of the largest milk shipping points in California.[8]
Voters approved forming the Knightsen Irrigation District in 1920 to provide water to 10,000 acres (40,000,000 m2) of farmland. The cost of the project then was $650,000. Even before the project was completed, the district was absorbed by the East Contra Costa Water District. The change from dry farming to irrigation brought other notable changes. The Knightsen Farm Bureau was organized in 1918. It built a hall in 1922 that has since been used for school graduations, dances, weddings, political functions, school plays, holiday celebrations, church services, a safe haven for flood victims and an endless list of other events. John N. Kristich, a pipe manufacturer from King City, California decided to build a plant for manufacturing concrete pipe in Knightsen. His firm became one of the largest producers of concrete pipe in California during the 1920s.
Knightsen has remained primarily a farming community, growing such foods as almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, etc. It still contains a few U-pick vegetable/fruit stands. Knightsen now is home to many horse ranches. One report even indicated that the community housed nearly as many horses (1500) as people (1568).[6]
Geography
[edit]According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.5 square miles (22 km2), 99% of it land.
Demographics
[edit]| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 851 | — | |
| 2010 | 1,568 | 84.3% | |
| 2020 | 1,596 | 1.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[10] | |||
The 2020 United States census reported that Knightsen had a population of 1,596. The population density was 191.0 inhabitants per square mile (73.7/km2). The racial makeup of Knightsen was 63.0% White, 0.9% African American, 0.6% Native American, 1.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 20.4% from other races, and 13.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 36.8% of the population.
The census reported that 100% of the population lived in households.
There were 529 households, out of which 34.2% included children under the age of 18, 60.1% were married-couple households, 5.9% were cohabiting couple households, 16.1% had a female householder with no partner present, and 18.0% had a male householder with no partner present. 16.1% of households were one person, and 6.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.02. There were 406 families (76.7% of all households).
The age distribution was 21.9% under the age of 18, 9.3% aged 18 to 24, 23.2% aged 25 to 44, 29.9% aged 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 108.9 males.
There were 556 housing units at an average density of 66.5 units per square mile (25.7 units/km2), of which 529 (95.1%) were occupied. Of these, 74.1% were owner-occupied, and 25.9% were occupied by renters.[11][12]
Education
[edit]Almost all of the CDP is in the Knightsen Elementary School District while a small portion is in the Oakley Union Elementary School District. All of the CDP is in the Liberty Union High School District.[13]
Notable residents
[edit]- Jeremy Newberry: NFL player.
References
[edit]- ^ "Senators". State of California. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ "Members Assembly". State of California. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
- ^ "California's 9th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved March 9, 2013.
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- ^ "Knightsen". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ a b c d e "Eye on the Bay," CBS5, September 21, 2008
- ^ "City of Brentwood General Plan Land Use Designations" (PDF).
- ^ a b c Leighton, Kathy. "Knightsen History." East Contra Costa Historical Society. Reprinted from "East Contra Costa County Footprints in the Sand." 2001. Accessed November 27, 2017.
- ^ Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press. p. 648. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
- ^ "Knightsen CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ "Knightsen CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing". US Census Bureau. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
- ^ 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Contra Costa County, CA (PDF) (Map). Suitland, Maryland: U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved January 24, 2025. - Text list
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