Ben Lomond is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, and also the name of the mountain to the west. The CDP includes the communities of Glen Arbor and Brackney. The population was 6,337 at the 2020 census.
History
The nearby Ben Lomond Mountain was named after the mountain in Scotland by John Burns, a Scottish man who settled on the west side of the ridge in 1851. Burns became one of the first vintners in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and is usually also credited with naming the community of Bonny Doon. The San Lorenzo River watershed contains extensive forests of Coast redwood, and was an early center of the logging/lumber industry in Santa Cruz County. The community was originally known as Pacific Mills, after a sawmill operation located there. When, in 1887, the community applied for a U.S. Post Office, residents voted to adopt the name of the mountain.
Alba School, a one-room schoolhouse, was constructed in 1895 and was in use until 1940; it later served as a library and a community center. It was destroyed in the CZU Lightning Complex fires in August 2020.
Geography
Ben Lomond is located on State Highway 9, about from Santa Cruz and from San Jose (the nearest major city) at (37.09, -122.09). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of . The San Lorenzo River runs through it, in what is known locally as the San Lorenzo Valley, which runs SE–NW to the east of Ben Lomond Mountain (in actuality a long ridge whose highest point has an elevation of ).
Northeast of Ben Lomond is Loch Lomond, a reservoir built on Newell Creek and named after the original Loch Lomond in Scotland.
Climate
The National Weather Service has kept weather records for Ben Lomond since 1937. The Western Climate Center reports that Ben Lomond has an average annual rainfall of and an average annual snowfall of
The surrounding mountains and hills trapping heat allow for the summers to become considerably warmer than the surrounding locations despite the area being near the bay and ocean. As a result, summer highs have averages near and can even reach more than . In addition, frost in winter nights are more common than the surrounding areas as the higher elevation and lack of a maritime effect allow for cooler overnight temperatures to occur.
The record high temperature was on September 6, 2020, and the record low temperature was on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 53.6 days annually with highs of or higher and 36.6 days with lows of or lower.
The wettest year was 1983, with of precipitation and the driest year was 2013, with . The most precipitation in one month was in December 1955. The most precipitation in 24 hours was on January 4, 1982. There are an average of 76 days with measurable precipitation. The heaviest 24-hour snowfall was on January 21, 1962.
Demographics
Ben Lomond first appeared as an unincorporated community in the 1970 U.S. census;
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|2,072
|5,374
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,087
|87.65%
|86.20%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |80.27%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|3
|30
|style='background: #ffffe6; |29
|0.13%
|0.48%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.46%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|12
|35
|style='background: #ffffe6; |33
|0.51%
|0.56%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.52%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|37
|68
|style='background: #ffffe6; |86
|1.57%
|1.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.36%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|3
|11
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4
|0.13%
|0.18%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.06%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|15
|17
|style='background: #ffffe6; |51
|0.63%
|0.27%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.80%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|70
|184
|style='background: #ffffe6; |373
|2.96%
|2.95%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5.89%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|152
|515
|style='background: #ffffe6; |674
|6.43%
|8.26%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.64%
|-
|Total
|2,364
|6,234
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6,337
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Ben Lomond had a population of 6,337. The population density was . The median age was 45.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.3 males age 18 and over.
The age distribution was 18.1% under the age of 18, 6.4% aged 18 to 24, 24.2% aged 25 to 44, 30.9% aged 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65years of age or older.
There were 2,492 households, out of which 27.1% included children under the age of 18. Of all households, 53.0% were married-couple households, 7.9% were cohabiting couple households, 20.9% had a female householder with no partner present, and 18.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 22.5% of households were one person, and 9.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52. There were 1,669 families (67.0% of all households).
There were 2,620 housing units at an average density of . Of these units, 95.1% were occupied and 4.9% were vacant; the homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 2.9%. Of occupied units, 74.7% were owner-occupied and 25.3% were occupied by renters.
The median household income was $120,977, and the per capita income was $62,910. About 0.0% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line.
Business
Love Creek is on the east side of the business district of Ben Lomond, along Highway 9.
Government
In the California State Legislature, Ben Lomond is in , and in .
In the United States House of Representatives, Ben Lomond is in .
Transportation
Santa Cruz Metro Transit Bus Route 35 and 35E goes through Ben Lomond.
Notable people
- Guillermo Wagner Granizo (1923–1995) ceramic tile muralist, lived in Ben Lomond from the 1970s until 1980.
- Jim Jeffries (1875–1953), boxer, trained in the 1940s at the now defunct Wagon Wheel Bar and Restaurant.