San Benito County, California
| County of San Benito | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | California | ||
| Region | Central California | ||
| Incorporated | 1874 | ||
| County seat | Hollister | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 1,391 sq mi (3,602.7 km2) | ||
| - Land | 1,389 sq mi (3,597.5 km2) | ||
| - Water | 2 sq mi (5.2 km2) | ||
| Population (2000) | 53,234 | ||
| - Density | 39/sq mi (15.1/km2) | ||
| Time zone | Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7) | ||
| Website | www.san-benito.ca.us | ||
San Benito County is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California, south of San Jose. As of 2000 the population was 53,234. The county seat is Hollister, which includes approximately three fifths of the county's population. El Camino Real passes through the county and includes one mission in San Juan Bautista.
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History
San Benito County was formed from parts of Monterey County in 1874.
The county is named after the San Benito Valley. Father Juan Crespí, in his expedition in 1772, named a small river in honor of San Benedicto (Saint Benedict), the patron saint of the married, and it is from the contraction of this name that the county took its name.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,391 square miles (3,602 km²), of which 1,389 square miles (3,598 km²) is land and 2 square miles (4 km²) (0.12%) is water.
Sharing a border with Santa Clara County, San Benito County lies adjacent to the San Francisco Bay Area and is only sometimes considered a part of that region. Instead, the county is associated with the Monterey Bay Area through governmental organizations such as the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments as well as the Pajaro River, which flows from northern San Benito County into the Monterey Bay. However, the United States Census Bureau includes the county in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA and the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland CSA, which the Census uses as a statistical definition of the San Francisco Bay Area.
The county is also the location of the Mount Harlan and San Benito American Viticultural Areas. The latter contains the Cienega Valley, Lime Kiln Valley, and Paicines AVAs.
Fauna and flora
Benitoite, the official gem of the State of California, was discovered in San Benito County.[1] The county is also home to the San Benito evening primrose (Camissonia benitensis);[2] and Illacme plenipes, a millipede having more legs than any other millipede species, discovered in the county in 1926.[3] The plant genus Benitoa was named for San Benito County.[4]
Cities and towns
- Hollister
- San Juan Bautista
- Tres Pinos
- Aromas
- Paicines
- Ridgemark
- New Idria (abandoned)
Adjacent counties
- Santa Clara County — north/northwest
- Merced County — northeast
- Fresno County — east/southeast
- Monterey County — southwest/west
- Santa Cruz County — northwest
National protected area
- Pinnacles National Monument
Transportation Infrastructure
Major highways
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U.S. Route 101
State Route 25
State Route 129
State Route 146
State Route 156
Public transportation
San Benito County Express provides fixed route service in the city of Hollister, and intercity service in the northern portion of the county. Service operates as far north as Gilroy, in Santa Clara County.
Airports
Hollister Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport located just north of Hollister.
Demographics
As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 53,234 people, 15,885 households, and 12,898 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 16,499 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 65.17% White, 1.08% Black or African American, 1.16% Native American, 2.40% Asian, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 24.87% from other races, and 5.14% from two or more races. 47.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 7.6% were of German, 6.3% Irish and 5.4% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 62.8% spoke English and 35.3% Spanish as their first language.
There were 15,885 households out of which 46.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.7% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 14.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.32 and the average family size was 3.64.
In the county the population was spread out with 32.2% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 102.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.6 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $57,469, and the median income for a family was $60,665. Males had a median income of $44,158 versus $29,524 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,932. About 6.7% of families and 10.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.4% of those under age 18 and 8.5% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
| Year | DEM | GOP | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 60.6% 11,917 | 37.7% 7,425 | 1.8% 363 |
| 2004 | 52.6% 9,851 | 46.5% 8,698 | .9% 176 |
| 2000 | 54.3% 9,131 | 41.7% 7,015 | 4.1% 685 |
| 1996 | 50.6% 7,030 | 38.7% 5,384 | 10.7% 1,492 |
| 1992 | 42.0% 5,354 | 32.3% 4,112 | 25.7% 3,273 |
| 1988 | 44.2% 4,559 | 54.1% 5,578 | 1.7% 171 |
| 1984 | 37.9% 3,554 | 60.7% 5,695 | 1.4% 131 |
| 1980 | 36.2% 2,749 | 53.3% 4,054 | 10.5% 799 |
| 1976 | 46.7% 3,122 | 50.9% 3,398 | 2.4% 160 |
| 1972 | 37.5% 2,582 | 57.6% 3,961 | 4.9% 338 |
| 1968 | 45.1% 2,809 | 47.5% 2,961 | 7.4% 459 |
| 1964 | 60.6% 3,779 | 39.2% 2,444 | 0.2% 14 |
| 1960 | 48.4% 2,876 | 51.4% 3,056 | 0.2% 13 |
San Benito is a Democratic-leaning county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Republican to win a majority in the county was George H.W. Bush in 1988. It is often considered the bellwether of California, as most of its election returns mirrored the state as a whole. San Benito is part of California's 17th congressional district, which is held by Democrat Sam Farr. In the state legislature San Benito is in the 28th Assembly district, which is held by Democrat Anna M. Caballero, and the 12th Senate district, which is held by Republican Jeff Denham.
County government is overseen by a five-member elected Board of Supervisors, who serve four year terms of office. Currently, the board members are Jaime de la Cruz, Patricia Loe, Anthony Botelho, Donald Marcus and Reb Monaco. The county is one of the few in California to have a Clerk-Auditor-Recorder-Registrar of Voter's. The current Clerk-Auditor-Recorder-Registrar of Voter's is Joe Paul Gonzalez. The county has an Assessor, the position is currently held by Tom Slavich.
As of May, 2010, the California Secretary of State reports that San Benito County has 34,562 eligible voters. Of those 24,736 (71.57%) are registered voters. Of those, 11,959 (48.35%) are registered Democratic, 7,477 (30.23%) are registered Republican, 565 (2.28%)are registered American Independent, and 116 (0.47%) are Green Party. The two incorporated municipalities of Hollister and San Juan Bautista have Democratic majorities on their voter rolls, whereas the unincorporated areas of San Benito County have a small Republican plurality in voter registration.
California marshal
San Benito County has the only remaining Elected Marshal's Office in California despite the law passed by voters in 2000 abolishing the Municipal Courts and the accompanying marshal's offices. Robert Scattini is the current Elected Marshal of San Benito County.
References
- ↑ Louderback, George Davis. 1907. "Benitoite, A New California Gem Mineral." Bulletin of The Department of Geology, Vol. 5, No. 9. University of California Publications.
- ↑ Hickman, James C. (editor). 1993. The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California. University of California Press.
- ↑ Sara Goudarzi (June 7, 2006). ""666-Legged Creature Rediscovered."". LiveScience. http://www.livescience.com/animals/060607_leggy_millipede.html.
- ↑ Flora of North America: Benitoa
- ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
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Santa Clara County | Santa Clara County | Merced County | |
| Monterey County |  |
Fresno County | ||
 San Benito County, California  |
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| Monterey County | Fresno County |
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