Hornitos, California

Hornitos (Spanish for "Little ovens") is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California, United States. It is located on Burns Creek  by road south of Coulterville, at an elevation of . The population was 38 at the 2020 census, down from 75 at the 2010 census.

The town is featured in the 1962 film Ride the High Country as the nearest town for active mining in the nearby mountains.

History

The Hornitas post office opened in 1856 and changed its name to Hornitos in 1877. The name, meaning "little ovens" in Spanish, was derived from the community's old Mexican tombstones that were built in the shape of little square bake ovens. Hornitos is registered as California Historical Landmark #333.

Domingo Ghirardelli had a general store here between 1856 and 1859, where he perfected his chocolate recipes. The remains of the store can still be seen in town.

Hornitos was disincorporated by state statute in 1973.

Geography
Hornitos is in western Mariposa County,  west of Mariposa, the county seat, and  northeast of Merced. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of , all of it land. Burns Creek flows through the center of town, running southwest to join Bear Creek, a tributary of the San Joaquin River, in Merced County.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Hornitos had a population of 75. The population density was . The racial makeup of Hornitos was 66 (88.0%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 2 (2.7%) Native American, 1 (1.3%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 0 (0.0%) from other races, and 6 (8.0%) from two or more races.  Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5 persons (6.7%).

The Census reported that 75 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 34 households, out of which 7 (20.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 15 (44.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 3 (8.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 1 (2.9%) had a male householder with no wife present.  There were 1 (2.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 12 households (35.3%) were made up of individuals, and 8 (23.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21.  There were 19 families (55.9% of all households); the average family size was 3.00.

The population was spread out, with 14 people (18.7%) under the age of 18, 2 people (2.7%) aged 18 to 24, 17 people (22.7%) aged 25 to 44, 20 people (26.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 22 people (29.3%) who were 65 years of age or older.  The median age was 52.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males.  For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 110.3 males.

There were 43 housing units at an average density of , of which 17 (50.0%) were owner-occupied, and 17 (50.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 10.5%.  40 people (53.3% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 35 people (46.7%) lived in rental housing units.

References

Census-designated places in Mariposa County, California
Census-designated places in California
Former municipalities in California
Populated places disestablished in 1973