Ben Lomond, California

Ben Lomond
census-designated place
Marshall Creek, at The Quaker Center in Ben Lomond
Location in Santa Cruz County and the state of California
Ben Lomond Location in the United States
Coordinates: 37°4′58″N 122°5′1″W / 37.08278°N 122.08361°WCoordinates: 37°4′58″N 122°5′1″W / 37.08278°N 122.08361°W
Country	United States
State	California
County	Santa Cruz
Area[1]
• Total	8.360 sq mi (21.652 km^2)
• Land	8.360 sq mi (21.652 km^2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km^2)  0%
Elevation	331 ft (101 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	6,234
• Density	750/sq mi (290/km^2)
Time zone	PST (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP code	95005
Area code(s)	831
FIPS code	06-05332
GNIS feature ID	1655826

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 population was 6,234 at the 2010 census.

History

The mountain was named by John Burns, a Scot who settled on the west side of the ridge in 1851. Burns named the mountain after one in Scotland. Ben Lomond means "beacon peak" in Gaelic. 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.^[2]

Geography

Ben Lomond is located on State Highway 9, about 12 miles from Santa Cruz, California and 34 miles from San Jose, California (the nearest major city) at 37°5′24″N 122°5′24″W / 37.09000°N 122.09000°W (37.09, -122.09).^[3] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.4 square miles (22 km²). 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 (really a long ridge whose highest point has an elevation of 810m/2660 ft).

Loch Lomond is a reservoir built on Newell Creek.

The now-defunct Wagon Wheel Bar and Restaurant was where heavyweight boxer Jim Jeffreys trained in the 1940s.

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 49.00 inches and an average annual snowfall of 0.2 inch. January is the coldest month with a normal maximum of 61.5 °F (16.4 °C) and a normal minimum of 36.9 °F (2.7 °C). August is the warmest month with a normal maximum of 85.5 °F (29.7 °C) and a normal minimum of 50.4 °F (10.2 °C).

The record high temperature was 112 °F (44 °C) on October 8, 1996, and July 22, 2006, and the record low temperature was 15 °F (−9 °C) on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 39.2 days annually with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher and 34.8 days with lows of 32 °F (0 °C) or lower.

The wettest year was 1958 with 65.46 inches of precipitation and the dryest year was 1961 with 28.99 inches. The most precipitation in one month was 35.77 inches in December 1955. The most precipitation in 24 hours was 11.47 inches on January 4, 1982. There are an average of 76 days with measurable precipitation. The heaviest 24-hour snowfall was 2.0 inches on January 21, 1962.^[4]

Demographics

2010

The 2010 United States Census^[5] reported that Ben Lomond had a population of 6,234. The population density was 745.7 people per square mile (287.9/km²). The racial makeup of Ben Lomond was 5,692 (91.3%) White, 32 (0.5%) African American, 51 (0.8%) Native American, 70 (1.1%) Asian, 11 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 98 (1.6%) from other races, and 280 (4.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 515 persons (8.3%).

The Census reported that 98.8% of the population lived in households and 1.2% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters.

There were 2,440 households, out of which 730 (29.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 1,326 (54.3%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 240 (9.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 91 (3.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 179 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 45 (1.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 538 households (22.0%) were made up of individuals and 115 (4.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52. There were 1,657 families (67.9% of all households); the average family size was 2.93.

The population was spread out with 1,214 people (19.5%) under the age of 18, 512 people (8.2%) aged 18 to 24, 1,470 people (23.6%) aged 25 to 44, 2,401 people (38.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 637 people (10.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.1 years. For every 100 females there were 101.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males.

There were 2,620 housing units at an average density of 313.4 per square mile (121.0/km²), of which 74.1% were owner-occupied and 25.9% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.7%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.0%. 76.5% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 22.3% lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 2,364 people (6,394 by zip code), 873 households, and 577 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,802.2 people per square mile (1,086.6/km²). There were 924 housing units at an average density of 1,095.3 per square mile (424.7/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.16% White, 0.17% African American, 0.68% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 2.37% from other races, and 3.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.43% of the population.

There were 873 households out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.8% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 5.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 105.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $57,241 (but $64,813 by zip code), and the median income for a family was $59,412. Males had a median income of $40,602 versus $28,042 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,691. About 2.7% of families and 7.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Ben Lomond is in the 17th Senate District, represented by Democrat Bill Monning, and in the 29th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Mark Stone.^[7]

In the United States House of Representatives, Ben Lomond is in California's 18th congressional district, represented by Democrat Anna Eshoo.^[8]

References

1. U.S. Census Archived 2012-07-14 at WebCite
2. Clark, Donald T. Santa Cruz County Place Names, Kestrel Press, 2008, ISBN 978-1-880478-02-8, p.22
3. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
4. http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ca0674; http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ca0673
5. "2010 Census Interactive Population Search: CA - Ben Lomond CDP". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
6. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
7. "Statewide Database". UC Regents. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
8. "California's 18th Congressional District - Representatives & District Map". Civic Impulse, LLC.

External links

Media related to Ben Lomond, California at Wikimedia Commons