San Mateo County was formed in 1856 upon the division of San Francisco County, one of the state's 18 original counties established at California statehood in 1850. Until 1856,San Francisco's city limits extended west toDivisadero Street and Castro Street, and south to 20th Street. In 1856, the California state government divided the county. A straight line was then drawn across the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula just north ofSan Bruno Mountain. Everything south of the line became the new San Mateo County while everything north of the line became the new consolidatedCity and County of San Francisco.[10]San Mateo County was officially organized on April 18, 1857, under a bill introduced by SenatorT.G. Phelps. The 1857 bill defined the southern boundary of San Mateo County as following the south branch ofSan Francisquito Creek to its source in theSanta Cruz Mountains and thence due west to the Pacific Ocean, and named Redwood City as the county seat.[11] San Mateo County then annexed part of northernSanta Cruz County in March 1868, includingPescadero andPigeon Point.[12][11]
Although the formation bill named Redwood City the county seat, a May 1856 election marked by "unblushing frauds perpetuated on an unorganized and wholly unprotected community by thugs and ballot stuffers from San Francisco" named Belmont the county seat.[13] The election results were declared illegal and the county government was moved to Redwood City, with land being donated from the original Pulgas Grant for the county government on February 27, 1858.[13] Redwood City's status as county seat was upheld in two successive elections in May 1861 and December 9, 1873, defeating San Mateo and Belmont.[13] Another election in May 1874 named San Mateo the county seat, but the state supreme court overturned that election on February 24, 1875, and the county seat has remained at Redwood City ever since.[13]
San Mateo County bears theSpanish name forSaint Matthew. As a place name, San Mateo appears as early as 1776 in the diaries of Anza and Font.[14] Several local geographic features were also designated San Mateo on early maps including variously: a settlement, anarroyo, a headland jutting into the Pacific (Point Montara), and a large land holding (Rancho San Mateo). Until about 1850, the name appeared asSan Matheo.
The Japanese first arrived in San Mateo County and were part of a group guided by Ambassador Tomomi Iwakura in 1872.[15] A number of male Japanese students came to San Mateo to learn English and many other helpful skills to bring back to Japan.[16] These students were also some of the first Japanese to join American students in the Belmont School for Boys. These students had to work for their housing and food before classes and in the evenings.[16] Many of the first Japanese immigrants were able to find jobs as gardeners and landscapers in San Mateo. Most of them had a good educational background from their homelands, but their lack of knowledge of the English language made it difficult for them to find other jobs in the beginning.[17]
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 741 square miles (1,920 km2), of which 448 square miles (1,160 km2) is land and 293 square miles (760 km2) (40%) is water.[18] It is the third-smallest county in California by land area. A number of bayside watercourses drain the eastern part of the county includingSan Bruno Creek andColma Creek. Streams draining the western county includeFrenchmans Creek,Pilarcitos Creek,Naples Creek,Arroyo de en Medio, andDenniston Creek. These streams originate along the northern spur of theSanta Cruz Mountains that run through the county. The northern and eastern parts of the county are very heavy densely populated with largely urban and suburban areas, with many of its cities as edge-cities for the Bay Area, while the deep south and the west-central parts of the county are less densely populated with more rural environment and coastal beaches areas.
The Santa Cruz Mountains cross through San Mateo County. In comparison to the rest of the county, the area is quite rural and forested.
In May 2014, aCalifornia condor was spotted nearPescadero, a coastal community south of San Francisco[19]—it was the first California condor spotted in San Mateo County since 1904.[19] The condor, tagged with the number "597", and also known as "Lupine", is one of 439 condors living in the wild or captivity in California, Baja California and Arizona.[19][20] The three-year-old female flew more than 100 miles (160 km) north fromPinnacles National Park, in San Benito County, on May 30, and landed on a private, forested property near Pescadero, on the San Mateo County Coast, where it was photographed by a motion-activated wildlife camera.[19] Harold Heath, professor emeritus, ofStanford University was responsible for the 1904 sighting, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the university campus.[19][21]
Pumas (Puma concolor), also known as cougars or mountain lions, roam the county.[22]
Tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) were native to San Mateo County and among the "favored foods" of theOhlone people based on ethnohistoric and archeological evidence there.[23] The discovery of two elk specimens made news in 1962, one a royal elk (royal elk bulls have sixtines per antler) from a peat bog excavated in Pacifica's historic Laguna Alta, and now in theMuseum of Vertebrate Zoology collection.[24][25] These may date from the time of Spanish settlement.[26] Laguna Alta lay just south of the Interstate 280 and Skyline Boulevard intersection, east of Mussel Rock.[27] TheCalifornia Academy of Sciences also has an elk skull fragment collected one mile inland from the mouth ofPurisima Creek in 1951.[28] Additional coastal elk remains dating from the Middle and Late Periods in Northern California were found in at least five more lateHolocene archeological sites in San Mateo County: SMA-115 (Montara State Beach site), SMA-118 (Bean Hollow State Beach site), SMA-244 (Butano Ridge site), SMA-97 (Año Nuevo Creek site) and SMA-218 (Año Nuevo State Reserve site).[29] On the eastern side of theSan Francisco Peninsula, elk remains were also unearthed at multiple archaeological sites alongSan Francisquito Creek.[30][31]
The County of San Mateo Parks Department operates 22 parks, trails, and historic sites spread throughout the county; the first,Memorial Park, was dedicated on July 4, 1924.[32]: 12 The County Superintendent of Schools, Roy Cloud, had visited a one-room schoolhouse in Harrison Canyon as part of his duties; at the time, it was thickly forested with old-growth redwoods and he was alarmed when he learned they were scheduled to be logged. He petitioned the County Board of Supervisors to purchase the land instead.[32]: 9–11 The Recreation Commission was not created until 1932, and the park was improved as part of theWorks Progress Administration efforts starting in 1935.[32]: 15
^Divided byState Route 1 into the 15-acre Mirada Surf West and 34-acre East.
Prior to the rebuilding of theSan Mateo Bridge that began in 1996, the county had also operated Werder Pier for fishermen; it had been the western segment of the original 1929vertical-lift bridge.
In addition to the county-operated parks, San Mateo County voters created theMidpeninsula Regional Open Space District in 1972, administered by thePeninsula Open Space Trust, which owns several protected spaces within San Mateo County (as well as within Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties). San Mateo County protected spaces administered by POST include:[55]
San Mateo County, California – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
The2010 United States census reported that San Mateo County had a population of 718,451. The racial makeup of San Mateo County was 383,535 (53.4%)White, 20,436 (2.8%)African American, 3,306 (0.5%)Native American, 178,118 (24.8%)Asian (9.8% Filipino, 9.0% Chinese, 1.9% Indian, 1.2% Japanese, 0.8% Korean, 0.5% Vietnamese, 0.3% Burmese, 0.1% Pakistani), 10,317 (1.4%)Pacific Islander (0.6% Tongan, 0.3% Samoan, 0.2% Fijian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian), 84,529 (11.8%) fromother races, and 38,210 (5.3%) from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 182,502 persons (25.4%); 15.7% of San Mateo County is Mexican, 2.7% Salvadoran, 1.2% Guatemalan, 1.2% Nicaraguan, 0.7% Peruvian, 0.6% Puerto Rican, 0.2% Colombian, and 0.2% Cuban.[72]
As of thecensus of 2009,[74] there were 714,936 people, 258,648 households, and 174,582 families residing in the county. Thepopulation density was 2,753 people per square mile (1,063 people/km2). There were 284,471 housing units at an average density of 789 units per square mile (305 units/km2). 7.4% were ofItalian, 7.1%Irish, 7.0%German and 5.3%English ancestry according toCensus 2000. 46.9% spokeEnglish, 28.4%Spanish, 6.2%Tagalog, 4.0%Chinese orMandarin and 1.1%Cantonese, and other language 4.2%, as their first language from estimate census 2009.
There were 258,648 households, out of which 30% had children under the age of 18, 48.6% weremarried couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.7% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.79 and the average family size was 4.44.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.6% under the age of 18, 15.9% from 18 to 24, 25.8% from 25 to 44, 21% from 45 to 64, and 9.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $69,306, and the median income for a family was $77,737. Males had a median income of $48,342 versus $45,383 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $36,045. About 6.42% of families and 9.51% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 10.01% of those under age 18 and 8.52% of those age 65 or over.
San Mateo County has a five-memberBoard of Supervisors, representing five geographic districts. The Board of Supervisors were formerly electedat-large (by voters across the entire county) until November 2012. On November 6, 2012, Measure B passed[75] to amend the San Mateo County Charter so that each member of the Board of Supervisors would be elected by voters in his or her district.[76]
The California Secretary of State, as of February 2019, reports that San Mateo County has 404,958 registered voters.[82] Of those voters, 202,341 (50%) are registered Democratic, 60,045 (14.3%) are registered Republican, 15,834 (3.9%) are registered with other political parties, and 126,738 (31.3%)declined to state a political party preference. Every city, town, and unincorporated area of San Mateo County has more registered Democrats than Republicans.
On November 4, 2008, San Mateo County voted 61.8% againstProposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages.[83]
A July 2013Wall Street Journal article identified theFacebook initial public offering (IPO) as the cause of a change in the U.S.' national economic statistics, as San Mateo County—the home of the company—became the top wage-earning county in the country after the fourth quarter of 2012. The article revealed that theBureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average weekly wage in the county was $3,240, which is 107% higher than the previous year: "That's the equivalent of $168,000 a year, and more than 50% higher than the next highest county, New York County (better known as Manhattan), which came in at $2,107 a week, or roughly $110,000 a year."[87]
As of the fourth quarter of 2021, the median value of homes in San Mateo County was $1,247,070, an increase of 11% from the prior year. It ranked fourth in the U.S. for counties with highest median home value, behindNantucket,Manhattan, andSanta Clara.[88]
In 2016, Peninsula Clean Energy began providing electricity to 20 percent of residential customers, all municipalities, and all small- to mid-size businesses in the county, as aCommunity Choice Aggregation program, an alternative toPacific Gas and Electric.[89]
The county is divided into several public school districts and is also served by the local Catholic diocese and many other private parochial and secular schools. The San Mateo County Board of Education oversees early education, special education, and the court and community schools program in the county, as well as serves as an appeal board for the adjudication of expulsion appeals, interdistrict attendance appeals, and charter schools.
Some students in San Mateo County's public schools attend outdoor education inLa Honda. San Mateo Outdoor Education is a residential school that teaches major concepts ofecology via exploration of forest, pond, garden,tidepool,wetland, and sandy shorehabitats.[90] The center's mascot is thebanana slug, a large yellowgastropod. The school uses songs from the famousBanana Slug String Band.
Caltrain, the commuter rail system, connects ten cities in the county with San Francisco (to the north) and San Jose / Gilroy (to the south), running between theHighway 101 and El Camino Real corridors for most of the way. There are13 stations in San Mateo County, of which 12 have daily service; the ten cities with stations stretch fromBrisbane on the north toMenlo Park on the south.
Caltrain stations in San Mateo County, from north to south
SamTrans (San Mateo County Transit District) provides local bus service within San Mateo County with some routes connecting to thePalo Alto Transit Center in Santa Clara County andSalesforce Transit Center in San Francisco. Approximately2⁄3 of all SamTrans bus routes travel alongEl Camino Real, and route ECR, the primary bus route on El Camino, carries approximately 25% of SamTrans ridership.[92]: 1
Each Caltrain and BART station has connections to SamTrans routes. In addition,Daly City station is served bySF Muni bus routes. There are many free shuttles that operate from Caltrain, BART, and Ferry stations along fixed routes to local employers during weekday commuting hours (6–10 am and 3–7 pm).[93]
Overnight rail service is substituted byAll Nighter bus service, split between SamTrans routes 397 (replacing Caltrain between San Francisco and Palo Alto via SFO) and ECR Owl (replacing BART between Daly City and SFO).[94]
^Gudde, Erwin G. (2004).California Place Names (Fourth ed.). University Of California Press. p. 341.ISBN0-520-24217-3.
^Yamada, Gayle K.; Fukami, Dianne (2003).Building A Community: The story of Japanese Americans in San Mateo County. AACP, Inc. p. 1.ISBN0-934609-10-1.
^abYamada, Gayle K.; Fukami, Dianne (2003).Building A Community: The story of Japanese Americans in San Mateo County. AACP, Inc. pp. 2–3.ISBN0-934609-10-1.
^Yamada, Gayle K.; Fukami, Dianne (2003).Building a Community: The Story of Japanese Americans in San Mateo County. AACP, Inc. p. 14.ISBN0-934609-10-1.
^abcdefghijklmnopqU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B02001.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B03003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19301.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19013.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B19113.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^abU.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
^U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table B01003.U.S. Census website. Retrieved October 21, 2013.
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