thumb|Shops in Los Olivos
thumb|[[Fess Parker winery, Los Olivos]]
Los Olivos (; Spanish for "the olive trees") is an unincorporated community in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tourism is popular in this rural area which is an agricultural region with an emphasis on wine grapes. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Los Olivos as a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 1,202 at the 2020 census. The town is located on California State Route 154. Alamo Pintado Road goes south from Los Olivos into Ballard and then Solvang. The census definition of the area was created by the Census Bureau for statistical purposes and may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name.
History
Sometime around 1880, on a bluff overlooking Alamo Pintado Creek, just north of the town of Ballard, a two-story house was built, with a wide, covered front porch and neatly symmetrical arched windows in the center gable, situated on prime farmland. It became the property of twenty-two-year-old Alden March Boyd, of Albany, New York, when he paid $8,000 for "157 acres, more or less, together with the dwelling house," in 1885. He planted five thousand olive trees, and called it Rancho De Los Olivos. The 1880s were a boom time for California. On November 16, 1887, the Pacific Coast Railway line extension from Los Alamos was completed. The developers of the narrow-gauge railway first named their town El Olivar, then El Olivos, and finally Los Olivos, after Boyd's nearby ranch.
Los Olivos was connected by the narrow gauge railroad to points north as far as San Luis Obispo until the train made its last run in 1934. The southern terminus of the railroad was in front of Mattei's Tavern, where a stagecoach line continued over San Marcos Pass into Santa Barbara.
thumb|Mattei's Tavern, southern terminus of the [[Pacific Coast Railway.]]
Demographics
Los Olivos 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)
|976
|style='background: #ffffe6; |940
|86.22%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |78.20%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.09%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|2
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.18%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.42%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|12
|style='background: #ffffe6; |7
|1.06%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.58%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|4
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.35%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|2
|style='background: #ffffe6; |12
|0.18%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.00%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|10
|style='background: #ffffe6; |37
|0.88%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.08%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|125
|style='background: #ffffe6; |201
|11.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |16.72%
|-
|Total
|1,132
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,202
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Los Olivos had a population of 1,202. The population density was . The median age was 49.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males age 18 and over.
The census reported that 1,124 people (93.5% of the population) lived in households, 78 (6.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 422 households, out of which 111 (26.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 239 (56.6%) were married-couple households, 23 (5.5%) were cohabiting couple households, 93 (22.0%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 67 (15.9%) had a male householder with no partner present. 100 households (23.7%) were one person, and 53 (12.6%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.66.
The age distribution was 230 people (19.1%) under the age of 18, 83 people (6.9%) aged 18 to 24, 233 people (19.4%) aged 25 to 44, 363 people (30.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 293 people (24.4%) who were 65years of age or older.
There are a number of large thoroughbred horse ranches in the area. Mattei's Tavern, a former stagecoach stop, is a restaurant.
Education
The Los Olivos School District operates Los Olivos Elementary School.
There are two private college-prep schools, Dunn School and Midland School. Dunn School is located along SR 154 and has both boarding and day students. Midland School is located on Figueroa Mountain Road and has only boarding students.
Climate
Under the Köppen Climate Classification, "dry-summer subtropical" climates are often referred to as "Mediterranean". Los Olivos has a mean yearly temperature of 61.6 °F (16.4 °C). The average high temperature in the summer months is 92 °F (33.3 °C), while the average low temperature in the winter months is 39.5 °F (4.2 °C). Parker and his wines were featured on the NBC daytime drama Santa Barbara (first episode of Season Two) of James May and Oz Clarke's Big Wine Adventure. Episodes of The Bachelor were filmed in Los Olivos.
Portions of the 1983 video for the song "Say Say Say", with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, were filmed at Sycamore Ranch, from the town. According to La Toya Jackson, the McCartneys were staying at Sycamore Ranch during the filming. At the time, Jackson expressed interest in someday buying the property. In 1988, he would do so, renaming it Neverland Ranch.
Notable people
US President Ronald Reagan lived about south at Rancho del Cielo. Musician Michael Jackson's property Neverland Ranch is located about north.
References
External links
- Los Olivos website