Winton, California
census designated place in Merced County, California, United States
Winton (formerly Merced Colony No. 1, Merced Colony No. 2, and Windfield) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Merced County, California, United States. Winton is located 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Atwater, California. and 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Merced, the county seat. Winton was established along the original Santa Fe Railroad. At one time, passenger trains would stop at this location.
As of the 2020 census, the population of Winton was 11,709, up from 10,613 in 2010.
Geography
Winton is located in northern Merced County at 37°23.3′N 120°36.8′W.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.8 km2), all of it land.
History
In the 1910, Atwater businessman H. A. Logue tried to establish a small settlement named Yam at the crossroads of the Santa Fe line by building the Yam Hotel and a store built there as the center of the new colony.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Winton, California” as census designated place in Merced County, California, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as census designated place in Merced County, California, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q583115. VIAF identifies the subject as 136056871. The Library of Congress control number is n81140187. Authority coordinates are 37.389, -120.613. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 2010 and 1910.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Winton, California”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Winton, California primary sources, Winton, California archive and Winton research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Winton, California”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Winton, California” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.