Five Things I Didn't Know about Crows Landing

1.  The population in 2010 was 355. The median age in the community at that time was just under 38 years old. We heard that the area had been set for explosive growth and development during the 1990s, but for a variety of reasons (including growth limits), it never happened.

2.  As of 2010, almost 70% of the population identified themselves as Latino or Hispanic, and just over half the adult population was male.

3.  Agriculture is a chief industry in the area, and California's drought is having a major impact.

4.  The communities of Newman, Crows Landing, Patterson, and Westley (among others) are six miles apart along the railroad tracks. We were told that steam engines back in the day had to get water every six miles, so communities were developed to make that possible.

5.  The name has nothing to do with birds. The community was originally founded about four miles east of its current location, on the San Joaquin River, as a river crossing. It was relocated in 1887 so it could be on the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks.

-- Mindy