Wawona is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California. It is located east of Mariposa, at an elevation of 3999 feet. The population was 169 at the 2010 census. Wawona is located entirely within Yosemite National Park, as it preceded the founding of the park as a national recreation area. It has approximately 160 year-round residents. The number of inhabitants increases dramatically during peak tourist seasons, due to the large number of rental cabins in the town. It is located at. It was known to the local Native AmericanMiwok in their language as Pallachun. The origin of the wordWawona is not known. A popular story claims Wawō'na was the Miwok word for "big tree", or for "hoot of the owl", a bird considered the sequoia trees' spiritual guardian. Galen Clark, who helped gain preservation legislation for Mariposa Grove and what became Yosemite National Park, occupied this area in 1855. He established a tourist rest and modest ranch in 1856. Clark sold the property to the Washburn brothers in 1874, who built a larger hotel in 1876, adding to it later. Hotel keeper Jean Bruce Washburn named the resort property Wawona in 1883. The town is located on the south fork of the Merced River, at an elevation of approximately 4000 feet. It is on State Route 41, the main highway from Fresno to Yosemite Valley. Wawona is the location of the historic Wawona Hotel, built by Washburn in 1876, with additional structures added into the early 20th century. A classic Victorian resort, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987. This is the town nearest to Chilnualna Falls and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia. The principal trailheads into the southern Yosemite wilderness are located in Wawona. The Clark's Station US Post Office opened in 1878. In 1883 its name was changed to Wawona. The ZIP Code is 95389. The community is inside area code 209.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Wawona had a population of 169. The population density was 26.6 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Wawona was 138 White, 2 African American, 3 Native American, 4 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 8 from other races, and 14 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12 persons. The Census reported that 163 people lived in households, 6 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 were institutionalized. There were 71 households, out of which 16 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 29 were opposite-sex married couplesliving together, 3 had a female householder with no husband present, 4 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 4 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 2 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 26 households were made up of individuals and 2 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30. There were 36 families ; the average family size was 2.94. The population was spread out with 32 people under the age of 18, 10 people aged 18 to 24, 46 people aged 25 to 44, 66 people aged 45 to 64, and 15 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 141.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 149.1 males. There were 370 housing units at an average density of 58.3 per square mile, of which 22 were owner-occupied, and 49 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 4.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 2.0%. 45 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 118 people lived in rental housing units.
