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Manteca is famous in Northern California as the location of The Manteca Waterslides. However, in the summer of 2004, the Manteca Waterslides were closed.
Manteca, California was founded in 1861 by Joshua Cowell. Cowell claimed about 1,000 acres (4 km˛) and built his house on what is now the corner of Main and Yosemite where the Bank of America stands. In 1873, the Central Pacific Railroad was put directly though town and "Cowell Station", a boxcar on the side of the tracks, was made a stop. Due to Cowell's brother, Wright Cowell, already naming a "Cowell Station" near Tracy, California, the name "Monteca" was chosen. An unfortunate misprinting of the train tickets caused the city’s name to show as "Manteca" — Spanish for " lard". As that it would be expensive and difficult to reprint the tickets, the name of the city was changed. Manteca was incorporated into a town in 1918 and Joshua Cowell became the city's first mayor.
Manteca calls itself "The Family City" and is the crossroads of the central valley. As recently as just the 1970s this was still barely a stop between the Interstate 5 and California State Highway 99 freeways existing primarily on agriculture. The continuing raise in bay area real estateReal estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings. Real estate is often considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty , in contrast with personal property, or prices has caused more workers to move eastward looking for a cheaper place to commute from and a better place to raise their families. Manteca, since the construction of the 120 bypass portion of the California State Route 120California State Route 120 in northern California, is the end of the freeways heading east from the San Francisco Bay Area. It begins in the west intersecting Interstate 5 to extend Interstate 205 through Manteca. This section is referred to as "the 120 b, is the end of the road for these commuters and a popular choice. The 1990sCenturies: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s Years: Events and trends Computers, technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other techn saw the population grow phenomenally and the construction of the city's third high school. This trend of growth continues as more and more farmland is converted to tract housing and the city grows to the South East. Despite being the crossroads of the Central Valley, some people are beginning to consider Manteca a suburb of the San Francisco Bay Area because it is a bedroom community for San Jose and the East Bay.
A reoccurring name in Manteca is "East Union". It was first given to a school established in what is now Manteca in 1857Events January 9 Earthquake at Fort Tejon, California with an estimated magnitude of 7. 9 February 16 The National Deaf Mute College (later renamed Gallaudet University) is established in Washington, DC becoming the first school for the advanced education. The school was named East Union in order to differentiate it from Union School, A school in the area that is now Lathrop, CaliforniaLathrop is a city located in San Joaquin County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 10,445. Geography Lathrop is located at 37°49'1" North, 121°17'19" West (37. 816904, -121. According to the United States Census Bureau,. A cemetery named East Union was started in 1872Events January 2 Brigham Young, is arrested for bigamy (25 wives). February 20 In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens. March 1 Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park March 5 George Westinghouse patents t and remains one of San Joaquin county 's oldest landmarks. The road the cemetery borders was named Union Road after the cemetery and it is now one of the main streets through the city. In 1966Events January January 1 In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bedel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. January 2 Strike of public transportation workers in New York City ends January 13 January 3 First Acid Test at the Fil, the city of Manteca started another high school to relieve overcrowding in Manteca High School. The new school was given the name East Union High School in tribute to the old farmhouse school.