San Bernardino is the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 185,401. Its nicknames and slogans include "San Berdoo," "Gate City" because of its geographic location, "City on the Move" used in the 1970s, and recently, "The Heartbeat of Route 66" to celebrate the annual Route 66 Rendezvous held every September in downtown San Bernardino.

Geography

San Bernardino is located at 34°7'46" North, 117°17'35" West (34.129510, -117.293150)¹.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 153.5 km² (59.2 mi²). 152.3 km² (58.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.74% water.

Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there are 185,401 people, 56,330 households, and 41,120 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,217.2/km² (3,152.4/mi²). There are 63,535 housing units at an average density of 417.1/km² (1,080.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 45.23% White, 10.41% African American, 1.40% Native American, 4.19% Asian, 0.37% Pacific Islander, 27.12% from other races, and 5.28% from two or more races. 53.48% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. It is commonly believed that the population of the City is 200,000, related to an undercount of undocumented immigrants by the Census.

There are 56,330 households out of which 44.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% are married couples living together, 21.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 27.0% are non-families. 21.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 7.5% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 3.19 and the average family size is 3.72.

In the city the population is spread out with 35.2% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 28 years. For every 100 females there are 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 92.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $31,140, and the median income for a family is $33,357. Males have a median income of $30,847 versus $25,782 for females. The per capita income for the city is $12,925. 27.6% of the population and 23.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 36.2% of those under the age of 18 and 11.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

San Bernardino is also known for it's chicano gangs that has not just polluted this city but also in the surrounding cities within this county. Fueled by drug money and revenge, these street gangs have flourished and spread across the Inland Empire and beyond in the face of sporadic and ineffective law enforcement efforts and inadequate intervention strategies. In the face of those efforts, gang violence in San Bernardino county have exploded numerically since the 1960s at the same time they've grown more brutal - engaging in a level of violence unknown elsewhere in the United States. San Bernardino county crime statistics nearly tripled from 1999 to 2001 with racial tension between hispanics and african americans on the rise.

There are about 275,000 gangsters in more than 2,500 gangs in Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties. They make up less than 2 percent of the population but commit at least half the region's homicides- taking the lives of nearly 4,100 people in Southern California since 1999, more than three times the number of U.S. casualties in the war in Iraq.

San Bernardino County sheriff's Sgt. Phil Brown said the gangs are growing more violent in the farthest reaches of the county, including the high desert.

"It's getting out in more remote areas," Brown said. "They go gang against gang. There's more gang violence to the general public and it's becoming more random.."

History

1810 Father Dumetz names San Bernardino on May 20, 1810, feast day of St. Bernardino of Siena.

1843 Rancho San Bernardino grant to Antonio Maria Lugo.

1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gives US control of California.

1851 Mormon Colony founded.

1852 Colonel Henry Washington erects survey monument on Mt. San Bernardino.

1854 San Bernardino incorporated as a city.

1857 Brigham Young recalls Mormons to Utah. San Bernardino disincorporated.

1880's Railroads arrive.

1886 San Bernardino reincorporated.

1926 San Bernardino Valley College built.

1942 Norton Air Force Base opens.

1965 California State University, San Bernardino built.

1994 Norton Air Force Base is closed.

Trivia

• Birthplace of actor Gene Hackman
• Site of first McDonald's restaurant
• Famed British disc jockey John Peel worked at local radio station KMEN in the mid-1960s

External links

• City of San Bernardino website (http://www.ci.san-bernardino.ca.us/)
• Inland Empire 66ers baseball team website (http://www.ie66ers.com/index.htm)

• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=34.12951&longitude=-117.29315&zoom=6)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=34.12951&lon=-117.29315&s=200&size=m&layer=DRG100)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=14&lon=-117.29315&lat=34.12951&w=750&h=500)