Lone Star, Fresno County, California

36°42′02″N 119°40′52″W / 36.70056°N 119.68111°W / 36.70056; -119.68111

Lone Star
The former train station in Lone Star
The former train station in Lone Star
Lone Star is located in California
Lone Star
Lone Star
Location in California
Lone Star is located in the United States
Lone Star
Lone Star
Lone Star (the United States)
Coordinates: 36°42′02″N 119°40′52″W / 36.70056°N 119.68111°W / 36.70056; -119.68111
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyFresno County
Elevation318 ft (97 m)

Lone Star (formerly, Lonestar) is an unincorporated community in Fresno County, California.[1] It is located on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad 3.25 miles (5 km) east-northeast of Malaga,[2] at an elevation of 318 feet (97 m).[1]

The Lonestar post office operated from 1891 to 1895 and from 1900 to 1910.[2] The place was named by the first settlers after their former home state, Texas (the Lone Star State).[2] Other sources, however, say that the town was named by schoolchildren.[3]

The town and local school were established in 1882, and the town hall was built in 1899. Many of the early settlers were of Armenian-American descent.[3] The Lone Star Elementary School is still active; students and a librarian at the school are said to have convinced Francis Ford Coppola to adapt the novel The Outsiders into the 1983 film of the same name.[4]

  1. ^ a b c U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lone Star, Fresno County, California
  2. ^ a b c Durham, David L. (1998). California's Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, Calif.: Word Dancer Press. p. 1065. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
  3. ^ a b Moore, Brenda (June 21, 1982). "Lone Star community marks a century". The Fresno Bee. Fresno, CA. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  4. ^ "How the Outsiders Film Was Made". The Outsiders House Museum. 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.