Lathrop, California, United States

🇺🇸 Lathrop is a city located 9 miles (14 km) south of Stockton in San Joaquin County, California, United States. The city is located in the San Joaquin Valley in Northern California at the intersection of Interstate 5 and California State Route 120.

History Lathrop was platted when the transcontinental railroad was extended to that point around 1868. A post office has been in operation at Lathrop since 1871. The city was named for Jane Stanford, née Lathrop, wife of Leland Stanford.

On September 6, 1869, four months after the golden spike ceremony of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit, the San Joaquin Railroad Bridge at Mossdale Crossing at Lathrop was finished by Western Pacific. This actually completed the last link of the transcontinental railroad to the Pacific coast with the first through train from Sacramento arriving that evening at the Alameda Wharf in San Francisco Bay.

On August 14, 1889, former Chief Justice of California David S. Terry assaulted United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen J. Field, at the train station in Lathrop. Field's bodyguard, United States Marshal David Neagle (formerly assigned to Tombstone, Arizona), shot and killed Terry. The events led to the United States Supreme Court decision In re Neagle, which granted immunity from state prosecution to federal officers acting within the scope of their federal authority.

Geography The San Joaquin River is on the west side of Lathrop and has elevation of 20 feet (7 m).

Neighboring cities and towns include Stockton, Manteca, Ripon, French Camp, and Tracy.

Economy According to the City's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top 10 employers in the city are: 1 Tesla, Inc.; 2 United Parcel Service; 3 Army & Air Force Exchange Service; 4 Super Store Industries; 5 Performant Recovery, Inc; 6 California Natural Products; 7 Simwon America Corp; 8 Manteca Unified School District; 9 Wayfair; 10 Pflug packaging.

Economic potential The City of Lathrop has a seven-mile (11 km) radius population of 105,893 with an average household income of $63,072.

Lathrop is centered between the Stockton and Tracy submarkets – both within a 20-mile (32 km) radius.

In April 2014, electric car maker Tesla Motors (based in Palo Alto, about an hour southwest) announced that it would be opening a factory in Lathrop, in a 430,000 sq ft (40,000 m²) facility that was once a DaimlerChrysler distribution center. The Tesla website showed 34 positions it was looking to fill to start.

Lathrop large development Mossdale Village, located west of I-5 and east of the San Joaquin River, consists of 2375 units and is of unique historical significance. The development abuts, and is named after, the site of the San Joaquin Railroad Bridge at Mossdale crossing, which was the final link to the Pacific coast for the Transcontinental Railroad, actually completed on September 6, 1869, four months after the official celebration and driving of the golden spike at Promontory Utah. California State Historical Marker number 781-7 is at Mossdale Crossing Park.

Transport The City of Lathrop is served by the San Joaquin Regional Transit District and the Altamont Corridor Express commuter rail train at Lathrop/Manteca station.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city covers an area of 23.0 square miles (60 km²) of which 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) (4.79%) is covered by water.