Benbow is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

Humboldt County, California Humboldt County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,463. The county seat is Eureka. Humboldt County comprises the Eureka–Arcata–Fortuna, California Micropolitan Statistica ...

, located beside the

South Fork Eel River The South Fork Eel River is the largest tributary of the Eel River in north-central California in the United States. The river flows north from Laytonville to Dyerville/Founders' Grove where it joins the Eel River. The South Fork drains a long ...

. It is located south-southeast of Garberville, at an elevation of 440 feet (134 m). Its population is 422 as of the 2020 census, up from 321 from the 2010 census.

History

The Children of Arthur Benbow purchased 1,288 acres from Ernest Linser and also some land from John Kamper, Jack Bowden and a Mr. Peirce in 1922. It soon became apparent that ranching would not be sufficient to meet their needs so the family decided to construct the resort hotel that still stands today. The children were Joseph, Evangeline, Burtis, Clara, Helen, Jessie, Loleta, Walter and Robert. Eight of these children were born in Humboldt County. In the early years the Inn was known as the "Hotel Benbow." It opened on July 17, 1926. The electricity for the hotel came from two diesel generators until a dam and powerhouse was completed on the south fork of the Eel River. The post office was established on December 30, 1929 and operated at Benbow from until it was merged with Garberville on January 31, 1953. The

Tudorbethan Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

style inn is still in operation as the premier hotel property on

US Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...

between

Humboldt Bay Humboldt Bay is a natural bay and a multi-basin, bar-built coastal lagoon located on the rugged North Coast of California, entirely within Humboldt County, United States. It is the largest protected body of water on the West Coast between Sa ...

and the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

Demographics

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Benbow had a population of 321. The population density was . The racial makeup of Benbow was 294 (91.6%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 0 (0.0%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 2 (0.6%) Native American, 1 (0.3%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 13 (4.0%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 11 (3.4%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 25 persons (7.8%). The Census reported that 319 people (99.4% of the population) lived in households, 2 (0.6%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 150 households, out of which 39 (26.0%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 60 (40.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 17 (11.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 9 (6.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 16 (10.7%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 (0%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 51 households (34.0%) were made up of individuals, and 13 (8.7%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13. There were 86

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

(57.3% of all households); the average family size was 2.55. The population was spread out, with 59 people (18.4%) under the age of 18, 19 people (5.9%) aged 18 to 24, 79 people (24.6%) aged 25 to 44, 108 people (33.6%) aged 45 to 64, and 56 people (17.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.1 males. There were 178 housing units at an average density of , of which 150 were occupied, of which 119 (79.3%) were owner-occupied, and 31 (20.7%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 0%. 257 people (80.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 62 people (19.3%) lived in rental housing units.

Government

State and federal

In the state legislature, Benbow is in , and . Federally, it is in .

References

{{authority control Census-designated places in Humboldt County, California Populated places established in 1926 Census-designated places in California