San Benito County (; San Benito, Spanish for "St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Central Coast region of California. Situated in the California Coast Ranges, the county had a population of 64,209, as of the 2020 United States census. The county seat is the city of Hollister.
San Benito County is included in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA Combined Statistical Area. El Camino Real passes through the county and includes one mission in San Juan Bautista.
History
Before the arrival of the first European settlers, the San Benito County area was inhabited by the Mutsun sub-group of the Ohlone Native Americans. In 1772 Father Juan Crespí conducted a brief expedition into the area and named a small river which he found in honor of San Benito de Nursia (Saint Benedict), the patron saint of monasticism. The county was later named after the San Benito Valley, the valley surrounding this river. Thus it was from the Spanish version of the saint's name that the county eventually took its name.
In 1797 Spanish missionaries founded the first European settlement in the county as the San Juan Bautista mission. In 1848 the United States government gained control over what would soon become the state of California, which included the area now known as San Benito county. The town of New Idria was the next town to develop in the area and was founded ca. 1857. New Idria was centered around the New Idria Mercury Mine. When the mine played out fairly recently in 1972, New Idria was abandoned, and the town is now one of California's many ghost-towns.
The town of Hollister was next founded on November 19, 1868, by William Welles Hollister on the grounds of the former Mexican land-grant Rancho San Justo. In 1874 the California legislature formed San Benito County from a section of Monterey County while naming Hollister as the new county seat. Sections of Merced and Fresno Counties were also later reassigned to San Benito County in 1887 as a result of the growth of the New Idria community. Other towns in the county which were founded early in the county's history include Tres Pinos and Paicines.
Geography
thumb|left|Tumey Hills BLM recreation area, near Interstate 5
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and is water (0.1%). San Benito County contains nearly the entire length of the -long San Benito River from the county's southwestern edge to its northwestern edge where it joins the Pajaro River.
Sharing a border with Santa Clara County, San Benito County lies adjacent to the San Francisco Bay Area and is sometimes considered a part of that region. Frequently, 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. 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 also borders Merced County and Fresno County on the east, which extend into California's San Joaquin Valley. It borders Santa Cruz County on the west and Monterey County on the southwest border.
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.
Flora
Due to the varied topography, diverse geology, and varied climate from near-coastal to inland, San Benito County contains a high diversity of vegetation types. Common vegetation types include annual grasslands, coastal scrub, chaparral, and oak woodland.
In the county's extreme northwestern portion maritime fogs and cooler temperatures harbored coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) historically, as evidenced by a description of the 1797 construction of Mission San Juan Bautista: "Redwood saplings, of convenient length and about six inches at the butt, were used for rafters;". In addition, two historical range maps show coast redwoods ranging into northwestern San Benito County, making the county one of five inland California counties, and one of 13 total California counties, which harbored redwoods historically.
In the extreme southeastern portion of San Benito County at Panoche Valley, Panoche Hills, Tumey Hills, and Vallecitos, the climate is arid and part of the recently recognized San Joaquin Desert biome. The flora there includes saltbush scrub, San Joaquin Desert scrub, and California juniper woodland. Panoche Hills navarretia (Navarretia panochensis) is nearly endemic to this small portion of the San Joaquin Desert in San Benito County.
At the highest elevations of San Benito County at Fremont Peak and San Benito Mountain, the average annual precipitation is high enough and the average annual temperature is cool enough to support mixed conifer forest. At San Benito Mountain, the high elevation climate and extreme geology of the New Idria serpentine, supports a unique mixed-conifer forest that includes foothill pine, Coulter pine, Jeffrey pine, and incense cedar. The extreme conditions of the serpentine soils of the New Idria serpentine mass support many rare local endemic plant species including San Benito evening primrose (Camissonia benitensis), rayless layia (Layia discoidea), Guirado's goldenrod (Solidago guiradonis), and San Benito fritillary (Fritillaria viridea).
The plant species Benitoa occidentalis was named for San Benito County. Camissonia benitensis, and Arctostaphylos benitoensis were named in recognition of their being endemic or near-endemic to San Benito County. The species Hollisteria lanata was named after William Welles Hollister, namesake of the city of Hollister.
Fauna
Illacme plenipes, a millipede having more legs than any other millipede species, was discovered in the county in 1926.
A California condor was found shot to death in the county on July 22, 2022, leading to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service posting a $5,000 reward for information on the killer.
Geology
The State Gem of California, benitoite, was discovered in the county.
The New Idria Mercury Mine, closed in 1972, was once the second largest mercury mine in the country.
National protected area
- Pinnacles National Park
Demographics
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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.
Voter registration
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed"
|-
! colspan="3" | Population and registered voters
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Total population
| colspan="2" | 54,873
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Registered voters
| 26,694
| 48.6%
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Democratic
| 246 || 4.48
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Homicide
| 535 || 9.75
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align: left;" | Motor vehicle theft
! data-sort-type="number" | Violent crimes
Top employers
According to the San Benito County Economic Development Corporation of San Benito County, the top employers in the county are:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! # of Employees
|-
| 1
|Earthbound Farm
|1,000+
|-
|2
| R&R Labor
|500–999
|-
|3
| Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital
|250–499
|-
|4
| Mcelectronics Inc.
|250–499
|-
|5
|San Benito High School
|250–499
|-
|6
|True Leaf Farms
|250–499
|-
|7
|Corbin Sparrow
|100–249
|-
|8
|Denise & Filice Packing Co
|100–249
|-
|9
|Nob Hill Foods
|100–249
|-
|10
|San Benito Foods
|100–249
|-
|11
|San Benito County Sheriff
|100–249
|-
|12
|Target
|100–249
|-
|13
|Trical Inc.
|100–249
|-
|14
|West Marine
|100–249
|}
Media
San Benito County receives media in Monterey County, including the major Monterey County TV and radio stations.
The county also has several media outlets that serve the local community:
Television
CMAP TV - Community Media Access Partnership, based in Gilroy, operates Channels 17, 18, 19 & 20 on Charter/Spectrum Cable as well as streaming online, offering public access and educational programming to Gilroy and San Benito County as well as offering live civic meetings, including county government.
Radio
- KMPG, at 1520 AM daytime, plays regional Mexican music;
- KQKE, at 97.5 FM, "The Quake" San Benito County Community Radio provides a low power signal.
- KHRI, at 90.7 FM, is an affiliate of Air 1 playing contemporary Christian music;
- KXSM, at 93.1 FM, broadcasts a regional Mexican format.
- K206BQ, at 89.1 FM, rebroadcasts KLVM.
- K265DG, at 100.9 FM, rebroadcasts KPRC-FM.
- The Hollister Free Lance, founded in 1873, is published weekly on Thursdays. The Freelance is now owned by New SV Media, Inc.and its main office is in Gilroy. New SV Media owns Good Times, Metro Silicon Valley, Pajaroan, Gilroy Dispatch, SantaCruz.com, King City Rustler and California Wheelin'.
- Mission Village Voice is a monthly paper based in San Juan Bautista. It is oriented toward arts, culture and community-wide events.
Online
- BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website covering San Benito County, run by local and regional residents.
- San Benito Live is a local news website, primarily focused on culture-related media.
Transportation
Major highways
<!-- Do not add any county routes or highway names here without discussion. -->
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
thumb|Hollister Municipal Airport
Hollister Municipal Airport is a general aviation airport located just north of Hollister.
Communities
Cities
- Hollister (county seat)
- San Juan Bautista
Census-designated places
- Aromas
- Ridgemark
- Tres Pinos
Unincorporated communities
- Bitterwater
- Dunneville
- Hudner
- Paicines
- Panoche
- River Oaks
- San Benito
- Tres Pinos
Ghost town
- New Idria
Population ranking
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 20220 census of San Benito County.
† county seat
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank
!City/Town/etc.
!Municipal type
!Population (2020 census)
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 1
|† Hollister
| City
| 41,678
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 2
|Ridgemark
| CDP
| 3,212
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 3
|Aromas (partially in Monterey County)
| CDP
| 2,708
|- style="background-color:#FFFACD;"
| 4
|San Juan Bautista
| City
| 2,089
|- style="background-color:#F0FFF0;"
| 5
|Tres Pinos
| CDP
| 443
|}
Education
PK-12 school districts include:
- Aromas-San Juan Unified School District
- Coalinga-Huron Unified School District
Secondary school districts include: