Castle Air Force Base

Castle Airport (IATA: MER, ICAO: KMER, FAA LID: MER) is a public airport in unincorporated Merced County, California, 8 miles (13 km) northwest of Merced. The airport is operated by the Merced County Department of Commerce, Aviation, and Economic Development. It is owned jointly by the city of Merced, the city of Atwater, and Merced County. The airport was formerly designated as Castle Air Force Base (1941–1995), a United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed after the end of the Cold War in 1995. The Federal Aviation Administration's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a general aviation airport, serving a regional role. The United States Department of Commerce designates the airport and its hangars, warehouses, industrial buildings, and distribution facilities as a Foreign-Trade Zone. The United States Forest Service uses Castle Airport as reloading base for aerial firefighting, its large runway, aprons, and taxiways being able to accommodate any aircraft in the Forest Service inventory.Castle Airport serves as the headquarters for the Sierra Academy of Aeronautics, which specializes in training foreign pilots, primarily from the People's Republic of China. Activity related to this school makes up the majority of the air traffic at Castle. In early 2007, the control tower was reopened to handle increased training traffic. Adjacent to the airport, Castle Air Museum displays over 60 restored World War II, Vietnam, and Cold War era aircraft. Among the exhibit highlights are a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, the world's fastest crewed aircraft, and the Convair RB-36 Peacemaker, the only surviving reconnaissance variant of the largest bomber ever built for the United States Air Force.

The Merced Union High School District (MUHSD) is a school district headquartered in the Castle Commerce Center on the grounds of the Castle Airport Aviation and Development Center in unincorporated Merced County, California, near Atwater. The union high school district serves Atwater, Livingston, Merced, and the surrounding area.

The Sierra Academy of Aeronautics is an aviation flight school headquartered in Atwater, California. It operates its training facility at the former Castle Air Force Base in Atwater, California. Sierra Academy was contracted by several foreign air carriers to perform pilot training, including Shanghai Airlines.

Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed in 1995, after the end of the Cold War. It is one of the largest aerospace museums displaying vintage aircraft in the western United States.

Riverside Motorsports Park was a proposed 1,200-acre (5 km2), motorsports-themed family entertainment park to be built in Merced County, California. The name "Riverside Motorsports Park" was not derived from its location (which was miles from the nearest river). Instead, the name was derived from the configuration of the park's 3+1⁄2-mile Road Course, which would have replicated, as closely as possible (given current track safety requirements), the road course at the Riverside International Raceway (Riverside, California) that closed in 1989. The RMP site was next to the former Castle Air Force Base, which is now operated as Castle Airport.

Buhach Colony High School is a public high school in Atwater, California, United States. Opened in 2001, the school is part of the Merced Union High School District. The school colors are black and gold, and the mascot is Thor. The name refers to the unincorporated community of Buhach, where in the 1890's Portuguese immigrant farmers who owned their land were known as the Buhach Colony.

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.

Buhach is an unincorporated community in Merced County, California. It is located 2 miles (3.2 km) east-southeast of Atwater, at an elevation of 157 feet (48 m).The Merced Land and Fruit Company established the Buhach Plantation in the area in 1871. The plantation farmed pyrethrum, which was used to make an insect powder called Buhach. Portuguese immigrants settled the area in the mid-1890s, and the company sold them the land which became known as the Buhach Colony. A social hall opened in Buhach in 1903, and the Buhach Grammar School was established in 1907.

The Bloss Mansion is a historic house located at 1020 Cedar Ave. in Atwater, California. The house was built in 1914 by George Bloss, the first mayor of Atwater and a prominent donor to the city. The house's design reflects several popular architectural styles of its era. The Mission Revival Style had the greatest influence on the structure, as exhibited in its stucco construction and tile roof. Prairie School elements of the house include its three-part windows, broad eaves, and overall emphasis, while the house's front entrance and side porch have a Classical design with Tuscan columns. Bloss donated the house to the city in 1963; it now houses the Atwater Historical Society and the Atwater Chamber of Commerce.The Bloss Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 3, 1981.

Atwater High School is a secondary school in Atwater, California, United States. It is a part of the Merced Union High School District. AHS competes as a member of the Central California League of the Sac-Joaquin Section.

Atwater is a city on State Route 99 in Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is 8 miles (13 km) west-northwest of Merced, at an elevation of 151 feet (46 m). The population as of the 2020 census was 31,970, up from 28,168 in 2010.

Amsterdam is an unincorporated community in Merced County, California. It is located 6.5 miles (10 km) north-northeast of Atwater, at an elevation of 220 feet (67 m). Amsterdam was settled by Dutch immigrants, and had a station on the Southern Pacific branch line to Oakdale, abandoned in 1942. In 1925, Amsterdam was said to have a population of 32. The community was featured in the 2012 Belgian documentary Amsterdam Stories USA on places in the United States named Amsterdam. A post office operated at Amsterdam from 1893 to 1895, from 1900 to 1910, with a closure during part of 1906, and from 1912 to 1925.