About Manteca, Tracy, Ripon and Mountain House

About Manteca, Tracy, Ripon, and Mountain House California
 

Manteca

Few cities can offer the unique range of attractions that Manteca’s lucky residents enjoy. Only a short drive from the majestic Sierras and Yosemite National Park, undoubtedly one of the scenic wonders of the world, the town is an easy commute to the Bay Area. Away from the hustle and bustle and sky-high real estate prices of the big city, Manteca has experienced rapid growth in the last decade or so, and its population is now over 62,000, but it retains strong links to its agricultural heritage and its friendly, country-town atmosphere, welcoming newcomers and providing a safe and secure environment to live, work, do business, and raise a family.  

Location and Geography 

Situated between Stockton and Modesto amidst the vast agricultural lands of California’s Central Valley, Manteca is strategically located between the Interstate 5 and California State Highway 99 freeways about 80 miles east of San Francisco and within sight of the Sierra foothills. 

Brief History  

Founded in 1861, Manteca benefited considerably from the arrival in 1873 of the Central Pacific Railroad, which was built to run straight through the town. Originally named Monteca, its name was permanently changed to Manteca (Spanish for “lard”) when it was decided that an unfortunate misprint on train tickets issued for the town would be too expensive to alter. Until the 1970’s Manteca existed primarily as a service town for the extensive farms and orchards of the San Joaquin Valley, but rising real estate prices in the San Francisco Bay area and improved access to the I-5 and Highway 99 attracted many commuters seeking cheaper housing and a safe and friendly place to raise their families. The city experienced phenomenal growth during the 1990’s, with extensive tract housing developments, and although it is now considered by some to be a bedroom community for San Jose and the East Bay area, it retains much of its rural character and continues to serve the surrounding agricultural industries. 

Special Attractions 

Known as "The Family City", Manteca’s location at the crossroads of the Central Valley enables easy access to the endless attractions of the Bay Area in the west and the wonderland of outdoor activities and scenic beauty in Yosemite and the Sierras to the east. Manteca boasts many fine parks and trails, including the magnificent 260 acre Caswell Memorial State Park, which offers excellent hiking, swimming, and picnic areas and a chance to see some of the area’s plentiful wildlife.  

The city offers great family attractions like the superb Manteca Bowl Family Fun Center, whose 49 lanes make it one of the largest bowling centers in California, and Big League Dreams baseball park, a unique facility containing replicas of six famous ballparks, including Finway, Wrigley and Yankee Stadium, as well as batting cages, beach volleyball, restaurants and a large pavilion for special events. Among many popular festivals and fairs, the annual Manteca Crossroads Street Faire is one of the biggest in the Central Valley, with over 400 vendors including huge exhibitions of local arts and crafts, antique stalls, wonderful food, and lots of free entertainment.
 

Tracy

Introductory Paragraph  

Once a sleepy rural Valley town, Tracy has seen rapid growth in the past two decades as weary urbanites have caught on to the affordable housing and great quality if life it offers. It is now a thriving, vibrant city of around 80,000 and still growing, yet it retains its friendly small town qualities and safe, relatively crime-free neighborhoods. Plentiful parks and open spaces, wide tree-lined streets, and easy access to the employment and recreational opportunities of the Bay Area make this charming city a great place to live and raise a family. 

Location and Geography 

Located 48 feet above sea level in the beautiful and fertile San Joaquin Valley just 60 miles east of San Francisco, Tracy is surrounded by the extensive farms and orchards of one of America’s main food-growing areas. Major freeways provide easy access to the North, South and East. 

Brief History  

Situated in lands once occupied by the hunter-gathering Ohlone and Miwok Indians, the town of Tracy began life as a railroad center in 1878. Irrigation came to the San Joaquin Valley in 1915 and for the next 40 years or so Tracy’s fortunes were inextricably linked to agriculture and the railroad. As roads improved and automobile transport became more important in the 1950’s the town continued to prosper as a center of agriculture. The 1980’s and 90’s brought extensive residential development and a rapid increase in population as commuters from the San Francisco and Sacramento areas were attracted by Tracy’s cheaper real estate and superior quality of life, and during the same period a number of major companies established distribution and administration centers in the town. 

Special Attractions 

Tracy’s proximity to both the San Francisco Bay Area and Yosemite and the Sierras gives the town’s residents access to practically unlimited cultural, sporting, and recreational attractions. A short drive east to the Bay Area offers concerts, art galleries and museums, live entertainment, major sporting events, festivals, and renowned attractions like Oakland Zoo and Concord’s Waterworld USA, while not much more than an hour westward there is fishing, hunting, camping, hiking, climbing, and skiing amidst some of the world’s most spectacular scenery.  

Now in its 22nd year, Tracy’s premier annual attraction, the Tracy Dry Bean Festival attracts over 44,000 people for two days of family fun each September. With its slogan
"Bringing Back the Beans", this delightful event features more than 300 stalls displaying the wares of artists, craftspeople, local farmers and orchardists, food vendors, and others. There is a Chili Bean Cookoff, Festival Queen and Princess contest, and lots of fabulous free entertainment. 

Ripon

A small town with a lot of history and a big heart, Ripon is a great place to live. Workers enjoy the easy commute to Stockton or the Bay Area, and families revel in its small-town values and sense of community. Sporting, recreational, and cultural opportunities abound, and with a population of just over 14,000 Ripon is a community poised for growth.  

Location and Geography 

Situated on the Stanislaus River and surrounded by the farms and orchards of the flat San Joaquin Valley, Ripon straddles California State Highway 99 at an altitude of 62 feet above sea level. 

Brief History  

Inhabited for millennia by the Laquisimne Indians, the area where Ripon now stands first saw white settlers in the mid-nineteenth century. A small settlement known as Murphy’s Ferry was established on the banks of the Stanislaus River around 1860. The settlement later became known as Stanislaus City, and its name was officially changed to Ripon, after Ripon Wisconsin, on 21 December 1874. The first brick building to be erected in the town, in 1886, still stands on Main St. to this day. 

Special Attractions 

River rafting and fishing on the Stanislaus River are popular pastimes for many of Ripon’s residents and visitors, while only a short drive away all the amazing outdoor recreation offered by Yosemite and the Sierras beckons. The big cities of Stockton and San Francisco with all of their cultural, sporting, and recreational resources, can be reached in no time, and there is plenty to do for those who prefer to stay home. The city boasts 20 fine parks on a total of over 320 acres, a popular Aquatic Center, and what many claim is the hottest skate park in California. The parade, rides, craft stalls, free entertainment and fantastic food offered at Ripon’s annual Almond Blossom Festival have been delighting crowds since 1963, and nobody leaves the town’s Fourth of July fireworks show disappointed. Whether it’s organized sports, the annual town Yard Sale, or the many street fairs run by the city’s host of community groups, there is always something interesting and fun happening in Ripon.  

Mountain House 

A superb planned community in its early stages of development, Mountain House offers its residents an unparalleled lifestyle that is firmly anchored in the traditions and values of an earlier, more relaxed America, but which makes brilliant use of the best in modern technology. Already home for almost 4000 people, by 2015 Mountain House will have 15,600 homes for 44,000 residents. Enjoying all the benefits of proximity to the Bay Area, Stockton, and the Sierras these lucky folk will be able to come home to an elegant, safe, and friendly community that provides for all their needs. 

Location and Geography 

Located amidst the flat agricultural lands of the western San Joaquin Valley, Mountain House is close to State Highway 205, giving easy access to the East Bay and San Francisco. 

Brief History  

The name Mountain House was originally given to an over-night stop used during the California gold rush by miners traveling from San Francisco to the Sierra foothills. At first a simple tent structure built in 1849, Mountain House eventually became a substantial adobe house where miners, stockmen, and immigrants were able to rest on the road to Stockton. The land on which today’s Mountain House community stands was once a town called Bethany. Founded in 1878 and at its peak in the 1920’s, Bethany had completely disappeared by 1940, and the land reverted to farming. Today’s Mountain House is a superb planned community which blends the best of modern technology with environmental sensitivity and old-fashioned community values. The community’s first members moved into their new home in January 2003, and the population is projected reach 44,000 by the end of this decade.  

Special Attractions 

Nestled in the beautiful San Joaquin Valley less than an hour’s drive from the Bay Area and just minutes from Stockton, Mountain House residents enjoy all the rich cultural, recreational, and sporting amenities that those exciting urban centers offer, while being also within easy driving distance of the outdoor scenic wonderland of Yosemite and the Sierras. But at Mountain House the community itself is a primary attraction. The planners of Mountain House have made the development of a sense of community a priority, carefully crafting a design that allows for a lifestyle less dominated by the automobile. New arrivals are welcomed into an integrated and functioning neighborhood; every home is within walking distance of a park, school, business and community centers and shops, and the 12 neighborhoods are connected by a complex of cycle and pedestrian paths. Two of the neighborhoods will be developed exclusively for retired people, offering views and easy access to the community golf course. The design also makes good use of the best in modern technology to conserve water and energy and foster the development of virtual, as well as actual, communities by providing all homes with high-speed internet access.