Needles, California
Needles is a city in San Bernardino County, in the Mojave Desert region of Southern California. Situated on the western banks of the Colorado River, Needles is located near the California border with Arizona and Nevada. The city is accessible via Interstate 40 and U.S. Route 95. The population was 4,931 at the 2020 census, up from 4,844 at the 2010 census.
History
The Mojave people first inhabited the area.Needles was founded in May 1883 during the construction of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, which originally crossed the Colorado River at Eastbridge, Arizona, three miles southeast of modern Needles. Needles was named after "The Needles", a group of pinnacles in the Mohave Mountains on the Arizona side of the river. The crossing was a poor site for a bridge, lacking firm banks and a solid bottom.
A bridge was built, but it was of poor quality. Not only was it a "flimsy looking structure", but it was an obstacle to navigation on the river. Flooding on the Colorado River destroyed the bridge three times – in 1884, 1886 and 1888. The railway built Red Rock Bridge, a high cantilever bridge, at a narrower point with solid rock footings, ten miles downstream near today's Topock. The bridge was completed in May 1890, and the old bridge was dismantled.
At first it was a tent town for railroad construction crews, but the railway would eventually build a hotel, car sheds, shops and a roundhouse. Within only a month, Needles would have a Chinese laundry, a newsstand, a restaurant, several general stores, and nine or ten saloons. Needles quickly became the largest port on the river above Yuma, Arizona. The railway and the Fred Harvey Company built the elegant Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts style El Garces Hotel and Santa Fe Station in 1908, which was considered the "crown jewel" of the entire Fred Harvey chain. The landmark building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is being restored.
Needles was a major stop on the historic U.S. Route 66 highway from the 1920s through the 1960s. For migrants from the Midwest Dust Bowl in the 1930s, it was the town that marked their arrival in California. The city is lined with motels and other shops from that era. The "Carty's Camp", which appears briefly in The Grapes of Wrath as the Joad family enters California from Arizona, is now a ghost tourist court, its remains located behind the 1940s-era 66 Motel.
In 1949, the United States Bureau of Reclamation began an extensive project to dredge a new channel for the Colorado River that would straighten out a river bend that caused serious silt problems after the Hoover Dam was completed.
Needles is a tourism and recreation center. The city is the eastern gateway to the Mojave National Preserve, a scenic desert area.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of. of it is land and of it is water.Climate
The city has a desert climate with a subtropical temperature range, with a mean annual temperature of.Needles, like Death Valley to the northwest, is known for extreme heat during the summer. The Needles weather station is frequently reported by the United States government's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the site of the highest daily temperature recorded in the U.S. during the desert summers. Needles occasionally sets national or world daily temperature records, along with other related records associated with extreme desert heat. For instance, on July 22, 2006, Needles experienced a record high low temperature of at 6:00 am with a high temperature exceeding, making it one of the few locations on Earth that have recorded an overnight minimum temperature higher than.
On August 13, 2012, Needles experienced a thunderstorm that deposited rain at a temperature of starting at 3:56 pm, setting a new record for the hottest rain in world history. The air temperature was, tying Needles's record high for the date. Since the humidity was only 11%, the rain evaporated so that "only a trace of precipitation was recorded in the rain gauge". Weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera reported that this was the lowest humidity at which rain has occurred on Earth in recorded history. On May 4, 2014, Needles reached a temperature of with a dewpoint of, for a relative humidity of 0.33%, the lowest value ever recorded on Earth.
In the winter, temperatures are typically mild, with December, the coolest month, having a normal mean temperature of. The hottest month, July, has a normal mean temperature of. On average, there are 119 days annually with a maximum of or higher, 175 days with a maximum of or higher, and 2.7 days with a minimum of or lower. Official record temperatures range from on January 22, 1937, to, last recorded on June 20, 2017.
Annual normal rainfall is, and there is an annual normal of 23 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1939 with of rainfall and the driest year was 2006 with. The most rainfall in one month was in September 1939. The most rainfall in a calendar day was on August 19, 1906. Snowfall is very rare in Needles, with the only month recording measurable snowfall being January 1949, when of snow fell, including inches on January 12, 1949. The city is also known for moderate to locally severe thunderstorms during the monsoon season as well as humid conditions.
Needles is served by the National Weather Service's NOAA Weather Radio operating on 162.50 MHz from the Las Vegas National Weather Service.
Demographics
Major employment in the city is supported by the BNSF Railway. The depot has been a terminal for the railway since the late 19th century. The railroad company has been the city's main employment source for over a century.The once smaller nearby communities of Bullhead City, Arizona, Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and Laughlin, Nevada have in recent years become larger communities than Needles.
2020
The 2020 United States census reported that Needles had a population of 4,931. The population density was. The racial makeup of Needles was 67.4% White, 2.5% African American, 9.0% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 8.4% from other races, and 11.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.5% of the population.The census reported that 99.7% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
There were 2,056 households, out of which 27.2% included children under the age of 18, 36.4% were married-couple households, 9.3% were cohabiting couple households, 31.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 22.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 30.6% of households were one person, and 13.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.39. There were 1,247 families.
The age distribution was 22.6% under the age of 18, 6.8% aged 18 to 24, 21.4% aged 25 to 44, 28.3% aged 45 to 64, and 20.9% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 44.4years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males.
There were 2,743 housing units at an average density of, of which 2,056 were occupied. Of these, 51.1% were owner-occupied, and 48.9% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $39,876, and the per capita income was $29,587. About 25.1% of families and 29.1% of the population were below the poverty line.
2010
The 2010 United States census reported that Needles had a population of 4,844. The population density was. The racial makeup of Needles was 3,669 White, 95 African American, 399 Native American, 35 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 323 from other races, and 314 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,083 persons.The Census reported that 4,839 people lived in households, 5 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 were institutionalized.
There were 1,918 households, out of which 650 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 712 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 331 had a female householder with no husband present, 159 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 186 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 6 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 588 households were made up of individuals, and 238 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52. There were 1,202 families ; the average family size was 3.12.
The population was spread out, with 1,283 people under the age of 18, 401 people aged 18 to 24, 1,038 people aged 25 to 44, 1,357 people aged 45 to 64, and 765 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.
There were 2,895 housing units at an average density of, of which 1,015 were owner-occupied, and 903 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.9%; the rental vacancy rate was 17.2%. 2,578 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,261 people lived in rental housing units.
According to the 2010 United States Census, Needles had a median household income of $29,613, with 28.8% of the population living below the poverty line.
Government
The City of Needles was incorporated on October 30, 1913. It is a charter city, led by an elected mayor and a city council with six elected members. Mayors serve two-year terms of office, and councilmembers serve four-year terms. The council designates a vice mayor from among its members. The city council also appoints a city manager who is responsible for the operation of city departments. As of October 2023, the current city manager is Patrick J. Martinez.State and federal representation
In the California State Legislature, Needles is in, and in.In the United States House of Representatives, Needles is in.