thumb|Aerial view of nearby Bonny Doon Beach
Bonny Doon is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California. John Burns, a Scotsman living in Santa Cruz, named Bonny Doon after a line in the Robert Burns song "The Banks O' Doon". The line is: "Ye banks and braes o' bonnie Doon...", and refers back to the Doon River in Scotland. Evidence of 2,600 years of occupation by Native Americans has been found in the area.
Bonny Doon has no city center or commercial shops, but features several wineries including Bonny Doon Vineyard, a church, two fire stations, a lavender farm, the Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve, an elementary school, and a private-use airport. A beach of the same name is nearby.
In 2020, Bonny Doon was popular with remote workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wildfires
At 2:54 p.m. on June 11, 2008, a fire broke out at the Bonny Doon Ecological Reserve, a preserve with a number of hiking trails located on Martin Road. This Martin Fire burned , destroying three residences and eight outbuildings. About 1,500 residents of Bonny Doon were evacuated as a result of the fire. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for Santa Cruz County. The blaze cost over $5.4 million to contain and was part of a busy summer of wildfires in California.
Little more than one year later, on August 12, 2009 at 7:16 pm, a second fire started in Bonny Doon, near the Lockheed facility off Empire Grade. The Lockheed Fire burned , and destroyed 13 outbuildings. More than 2,000 residents were evacuated as the blaze spread from Swanton south toward Bonny Doon. The blaze cost over $26.6 million and took nearly 2 weeks to be fully contained. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
In August 2020, Bonny Doon was affected by the CZU complex of lightning-initiated fires, which joined together to form one of the top 10 largest fires ever in California. Many home structures, the local school, and lavender field farm were protected by local residents – and one neighbor’s (borrowed) fire equipment truck. This band of neighbors defied an evacuation order and worked together over 4 days and nights to save multiple properties in their community, with the help of CAL Fire at the very peak of the fire.
Geography
thumb|Bonny Doon Village Airport
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 16.7 square miles (43.2 km), all of it land. The area sits at an elevation of .<br> 1860–1870 1880-1890<br> 1900 1910 1920<br> 1930 1940 1950<br> 1960 1970 1980<br> 1990 2000 2010<br> 2020
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Bonny Doon first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|2,366
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,290
|88.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |79.85%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|9
|style='background: #ffffe6; |15
|0.34%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.52%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|9
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9
|0.34%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|50
|style='background: #ffffe6; |66
|1.87%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.30%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4
|0.15%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.14%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|11
|style='background: #ffffe6; |17
|0.41%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.59%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|61
|style='background: #ffffe6; |184
|2.28%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6.42%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|168
|style='background: #ffffe6; |283
|6.27%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9.87%
|-
|Total
|2,678
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,868
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Bonny Doon had a population of 2,868. The population density was .
The age distribution was 16.9% under the age of 18, 5.8% aged 18 to 24, 23.8% aged 25 to 44, 27.2% aged 45 to 64, and 26.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 48.2years. For every 100 females, there were 106.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.3 males age 18 and over.
There were 1,083 households, out of which 25.4% included children under the age of 18, 55.3% were married-couple households, 8.1% were cohabiting couple households, 17.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 18.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 21.2% of households were one person, and 11.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.60. There were 735 families (67.9% of all households).
There were 1,171 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,083 (92.5%) were occupied. Of these, 76.3% were owner-occupied, and 23.7% were occupied by renters. Of all housing units, 7.5% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.1%, and the rental vacancy rate was 1.9%.
Government
In the California State Legislature, Bonny Doon is in , and in .
In the United States House of Representatives, Bonny Doon is in .
Infrastructure
Internet and television service are available but mobile phone service is very limited due to the mountainous terrain and trees.
Notable people
Robert A. Heinlein (1907–1988), a noted science fiction author, and his wife Virginia, resided in Bonny Doon from 1965 until just before his death. They designed and built the house themselves.
Bonny Doon was briefly in the spotlight in 2009 when model Jasmine Fiore was murdered. Jasmine grew up in Bonny Doon and attended the local elementary, where she was known as Jasmine Lepore.
References
External links
- Community Website for Bonny Doon, Archived 2007
- Rural Bonny Doon Association