Fowler's first post office opened in 1882.[10] Fowler was incorporated June 15, 1908.[1] The community was named for rancher Thomas Fowler, an early 1870s California state senator.[10]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.5 km2), all of it land.
The Census reported that 5,523 people (99.2% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 47 (0.8%) were institutionalized.
There were 1,723 households, out of which 838 (48.6%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 932 (54.1%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 276 (16.0%) had a female householder with no husband present, 120 (7.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 114 (6.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 14 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 333 households (19.3%) were made up of individuals, and 118 (6.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21. There were 1,328 families (77.1% of all households); the average family size was 3.68.
The population was spread out, with 1,662 people (29.8%) under the age of 18, 591 people (10.6%) aged 18 to 24, 1,558 people (28.0%) aged 25 to 44, 1,203 people (21.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 556 people (10.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males.
There were 1,842 housing units at an average density of 727.7 per square mile (281.0/km2), of which 1,723 were occupied, of which 1,102 (64.0%) were owner-occupied, and 621 (36.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.2%. 3,651 people (65.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,872 people (33.6%) lived in rental housing units.
In 1920, Armenians comprised 65% of the population of Fowler, with 1,000 Armenian residents out of a total population of 1,528.[14]
Notable natives and residents
Marvin R. Baxter, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California
Ernest A. Bedrosian, founder of the Raisin Bargaining Association (RBA), 1967. His dynamic organizational skill brought together over 1,000 raisin growers to form the largest agricultural bargaining association in America. The RBA's bargaining power was instrumental in increasing raisin grower returns from $180/ton to a recent record of $1,900/ton with a corresponding record increase for raisin grower land values.
^ abcDurham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1036. ISBN1-884995-14-4.