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San Benancio | |
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  San Benancio Location in California | |
| Coordinates: 36°34′10″N121°42′31″W / 36.569439°N 121.708529°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Monterey County |
| Elevation | 226 ft (69 m) |
San Benancio is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located in the San Benancio Canyon.
The region was named for San Benancio Gulch which is the small canyon that forms the majority of the region. A map dated 1834 lists the region as "Canada de San Benancio". The Spanish name most likely refers to one of four saints venerated with the name Venantius.
San Benancio was the inspiration for "Las Pasturas del Cielo," the fictional setting in John Steinbeck’s Pastures of Heaven . A Salinas native, Steinbeck spent time in his youth within San Benancio, specifically Castle Rock near the base of the Canyon, and accurately described the region in Pastures of Heaven:
... he saw a long valley floored with green pasturage on which a herd of deer browsed. Perfect live oaks in the meadow of the lovely place, and the hills hugged it jealously against the fog and wind.
While it has no official boundaries the colloquial place-name “San Benancio” refers to homes and businesses residing on or directly reached by San Benancio Road. This includes the Ambler Park and Harper Canyon regions found along the road.
The road itself is located along the Monterey-Salinas highway (California State Route 68) roughly equidistant from Salinas and Monterey.
The walls of San Benancio Canyon have an elevation of 400 ft and run adjacent to Toro Creek, a small tributary to the Salinas River which is located 4 miles south. The canyon is home to a number of California Live Oak Trees and various types of wild sage brush and grass.
The canyon is home to a wide array of wildlife as well including deer, hawks, condors, wild pigs, California quail and a large population of wild turkeys.
At the county level, San Benancio is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Dave Potter. [1]
In the California State Senate, San Benancio is in the 17th Senate District , represented by Democrat John Laird. In the California State Assembly, it is split between the 29th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Robert Rivas, and the 30th Assembly District , represented by Democrat Dawn Addis. [2]
In the United States House of Representatives, San Benancio is in California's 19th congressional district , represented by Democrat Jimmy Panetta [3]
San Benancio is served by the Washington Union School District. San Benancio Middle School which serves a little over 300 students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, is located in San Benancio. The school was rated 9 out of 10 by the “Great Schools” website in 2007.
The region is also served by Titus Park, a private Swim and Tennis club located along San Benancio Road. The pool remains open daily from June to September and hours are dictated by weather.
Monterey is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both Spain (1804–1821) and Mexico (1822–1846). During this period, Monterey hosted California's first theater, public building, public library, publicly funded school, printing-press, and newspaper. It was originally the only port of entry for all taxable goods in California. In 1846, during the Mexican–American War of 1846–1848, the United States Flag was raised over the Customs House. After Mexico ceded California to the U.S. at the end of the war, Monterey hosted California's first constitutional convention in 1849.
Monterey County, officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas.
Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The population at the 2020 census was 15,090. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey.
Prunedale is a unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located 8 miles (13 km) north of Salinas at an elevation of 92 feet (28 m). The population was 18,885 as of the 2020 census, up from 17,560 in 2010. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Prunedale as a census-designated place (CDP). Plum trees were grown in Prunedale in the early days of its founding, but the trees died soon after due to poor irrigation and fertilizer.
Salinas is a city in the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area located along the eastern limits of the Monterey Bay Area, lying just south of the San Francisco Bay Area and 10 miles (16 km) southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River. The city is located at the mouth of the Salinas Valley, about eight miles (13 km) from the Pacific Ocean, and it has a climate more influenced by the ocean than the interior.
Carmel Valley Village is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. In 1946, Byington Ford and Tirey L. Ford Jr. developed the Carmel Valley Village, which included an airpark, shops, and homes. At the time of the 2020 census the CDP population was 4,524, up from 4,407 at the 2010 census. In November 2009, a majority of residents voted against incorporation.
Carmel Valley is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. The term "Carmel Valley" generally refers to the Carmel River watershed east of California State Route 1, and not specifically to the smaller Carmel Valley Village. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Carmel Valley as a census county division (CCD), with an area covering approximately 189 square miles (490 km2). At the time of the 2020 census the CCD population was 6,189. In November 2009, a majority of residents voted against incorporation.
California's 18th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by Democrat Zoe Lofgren. Since the 2022 election, the district is landlocked and includes all of San Benito County and parts of Santa Clara and Monterey counties, including Salinas, Hollister, Watsonville, Gilroy, Soledad, and downtown and eastern San Jose.
California's 19th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California, currently represented by Democrat Jimmy Panetta.
Simon Salinas is a California politician. He was a member of the California State Assembly district 28 from 2000 to 2006. His district included all of Salinas and Watsonville. Before going to the Assembly, Salinas was a County Supervisor, a City Council Member, a community college instructor, and an elementary school teacher. Salinas is a Democrat. He left the assembly in 2006 because he was termed out. He surprised the political establishment by not challenging Republican incumbent Jeff Denham for the California State Senate district 12. Salinas returned to local politics and was elected to the Monterey County Board of Supervisors in 2006, representing District 3. Salinas has lived most of his life in the Salinas area, growing up around agribusiness. He has one son.
Springtown is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States.
Corral de Tierra is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located in the Corral de Tierra Valley, on the former land grant of Rancho Corral de Tierra, at an elevation of 404 feet.
Old Hilltown, formerly Hill Town, is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located on the north side of the Salinas River 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southwest of Salinas on California State Route 68, at an elevation of 46 feet, approximately two miles from Spreckels, California The name is from James Bryant Hill, one of the first settler in the area. The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolá expedition, camped on the Salinas River in this vicinity on September 30, 1769, having followed the river from the south for several days. From this camp, the scouts went out to survey the route ahead and saw Monterey Bay for the first time. Unsure whether the point they could see at the southern end of the bay was the "Point of Pines" described by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602, Portola decided that the party should investigate.
Plaskett is a thinly populated oceanside hamlet in Pacific Valley, a thin bench of land alongside the Big Sur Coast Highway in the southern Big Sur region of Monterey County, California. It lies at an elevation of 203 feet. It consists of a USFS campground and station, two small resorts, a small school, and a few dozen families spread over the general region.
Robles del Rio, sometimes spelled as Robles Del Rio, is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located west of the Carmel River in Carmel Valley, at an elevation of 597 ft (182 m). For statistical purposes, the community is part of the Carmel Valley Village census-designated place.
Big Sur Village is an unincorporated community in the Big Sur region, in Monterey County, California, United States. It is located along a 1-mile-long (1.6 km) stretch of Big Sur Coast Highway in the Big Sur Valley 24 miles (39 km) south of Carmel, California. The village contains the largest collection of shops and visitor services along the entire 71-mile (114 km) segment of California State Route 1 between Malpaso Creek near Carmel Highlands in the north and San Carpóforo Creek near San Simeon in the south. The population of the entire coastal region is about 1,463. The collection of small roadside businesses and homes is often confused with the larger region, also known as Big Sur. On March 6, 1915, United States Post Office granted the English-speaking residents' request to change the name of their post office from Arbolado to Big Sur. Caltrans also refers to the village as Big Sur.
Garland Ranch Regional Park is a 3,464 acres (1,402 ha) public recreational area at 700 West Carmel Valley Road, in Carmel Valley, California. It is owned and managed by the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District. It is located 18 miles (29 km) from Salinas on the south side of Carmel Valley Road on a .5 miles (0.80 km) stretch of the Carmel River It was the district's first land acquisition and was purchased in 1975 from William Garland II.
Luigi "Louis" Piazzoni, was a Swiss-born immigrant who came to upper Carmel Valley, California in the 1870s. He was a successful farmer for 50 years. The legacy of the Piazzoni family lives on with the Piazzoni ranch as one of the oldest working ranches in Carmel Valley, the Piazzoni cowboys and cowgirls, and Luigi's nephew, painter Gottardo Piazzoni, with three generations that painted the hills of California.
Mount Toro is a mountain peak in the Santa Lucia range in Monterey County, California. It is located within the boundaries of Los Padres National Forest. The name comes from the word "Toro," which in Spanish means "Bull".
Municipalities and communities of Monterey County, California, United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities |
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| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county | |
