Swall Meadows is a census-designated place in southern Mono County, California. The community is residential, including second homes and a volunteer fire department, but no commercial development. Geographically, it sits partway up the Sherwin Grade below the Wheeler Crest of the eastern Sierra Nevada, at an elevation range of approximately. It is in pinon-juniper/subalpine zone habitat, with views south along the Sierra Crest of Mt. Tom, and east across Owens Valley to the White Mountains toward Nevada. It is accessed from "old 395", or Lower Rock Creek Road. Swall Meadows is approximately north of Bishop and south of Mammoth Lakes. It is also well known in the area as an important deer migration route for the Round Valley mule deer population, which cherish the grazing in the meadow and apple falls from the old orchard trees. The ZIP Code is 93514. The community is inside area code 760. The population was 220 as of the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 4.5 square miles, all of it land. At the high, northwestern end is the old Sky Meadows Ranch, then houses and firehouse near the meadow, and at the southeast end a development known as Pinyon Ranch. In addition to the predominant pinyon-juniper-sagebrush habitat, there are permanent and seasonal streams and the eponymous meadow with wetter-habitat vegetation such as Jeffrey pines, willows, stream and bog orchids, and the remnant trees of the old commercial apple orchard. In 2011 the secured a conservation easement to protect 104 acres of the Swall Meadows meadow area, for the continued benefit of the migrating mule deer. A number of other conservation easements have been completed in Swall Meadows since the ESLT organization was founded in 2001. Between Paradise and Swall Meadows the old wagon road can be seen that climbed about up the Sherwin Grade from Owens Valley toward Crowley Lake.
Demographics
The 2010 United States Census reported that Swall Meadows had a population of 220. The population density was 49.3 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Swall Meadows was 201 White, 0 African American, 3 Native American, 5 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 2 from other races, and 9 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6 persons. The Census reported that 220 people lived in households, 0 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 were institutionalized. There were 98 households, out of which 25 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 68 were opposite-sex married couplesliving together, 4 had a female householder with no husband present, 3 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 2 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 21 households were made up of individuals and 10 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24. There were 75 families ; the average family size was 2.60. The population was spread out with 36 people under the age of 18, 6 people aged 18 to 24, 37 people aged 25 to 44, 99 people aged 45 to 64, and 42 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 53.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. There were 128 housing units at an average density of 28.7 per square mile, of which 90 were owner-occupied, and 8 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 0%. 201 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 19 people lived in rental housing units.
On February 6, 2015, Swall Meadows and the neighboring community of Paradise were ravaged by the Round Fire, which burned. The fire destroyed 40 homes: 39 homes in Swall Meadows and 1 home in Paradise.
