Tooleville, California

Tooleville is an unincorporated community in Tulare County, California.^[2] Tooleville sits at an elevation of 397 feet (121 m).^[2] The 2020 United States census reported Tooleville's population was 286. For statistical purposes, the US Census Bureau has designated it a census-designated place (CDP).

Tooleville
Unincorporated community Census-designated place
Location in Tulare County and the state of California
Tooleville Location in California.
Coordinates: 36°17′16″N 119°06′56″W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Tulare
Area [1]
• Total	0.067 sq mi (0.173 km2)
• Land	0.067 sq mi (0.173 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation [2]	397 ft (121 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	286
• Density	4,300/sq mi (1,700/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
GNIS feature ID	2585462
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Tooleville, California

Tooleville has the lowest per capita income ($3,711) of any CDP in California

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 0.07 square miles (0.17 km²), all of it land.

History

Tooleville narratives indicate that the Toole family, coming from Missouri in the Dust Bowl era, purchased a large parcel of land and sold portions of it to other Dust Bowl migrants.^[4]

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Tooleville had a population of 286. The population density was 4,268.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,648.2/km²). The racial makeup of Tooleville was 39 (13.6%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 26 (9.1%) Native American, 6 (2.1%) Asian, 1 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 167 (58.4%) from other races, and 47 (16.4%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 253 persons (88.5%).^[5]

The whole population lived in households. There were 64 households, out of which 20 (31.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 42 (65.6%) were married-couple households, 2 (3.1%) were cohabiting couple households, 16 (25.0%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 4 (6.3%) had a male householder with no partner present. 10 households (15.6%) were one person, and 7 (10.9%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 4.47.^[5] There were 54 families (84.4% of all households).^[6]

The age distribution was 104 people (36.4%) under the age of 18, 25 people (8.7%) aged 18 to 24, 57 people (19.9%) aged 25 to 44, 84 people (29.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 16 people (5.6%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 70.2 males.^[5]

There were 80 housing units at an average density of 1,194.0 units per square mile (461.0 units/km²), of which 64 (80.0%) were occupied. Of these, 51 (79.7%) were owner-occupied, and 13 (20.3%) were occupied by renters.^[5]

Infrastructure

Lacking a municipal water supply network, residents have used water that comes from two wells that are contaminated with nitrate and Coliform bacteria.^[4] Tooleville is one of many areas in the Central Valley plagued for decades by contaminated drinking water caused by chemical fertilizers, animal wastes, and pesticides that have infiltrated aquifers.^[7] In 1973, the county general plan deemed as having little or no authentic future and that by withholding major public facilities such as sewer and water systems, the community would enter a process of long term, natural decline.^[8]

Tooleville residents have sought water access through nearby Exeter, but Exeter officials declined to provide a connection to their water system for more than 20 years.^[9] In August 2021, the California State Water Resources Control Board sent a letter stating that the state would intervene if the city did create a consolidation plan within six months.^[9] Planning of a connection project started shortly thereafter, and the project is expected to take eight years to complete.^[10]