Paicines is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in San Benito County, California. The community is at the intersection of Panoche Road and SR 25. Bolado County Park is just over three miles (5 km) north of the community and the site of the San Benito County Fair.

History

Paicines originated in a community that arose on Rancho Ciénega de los Paicines, a rancho grant issued by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado in 1842 to Ángel María Castro and José Antonio Rodríguez. The settlement at the modern location of Paicines was originally called Tres Pinos, after a prominent grouping of three pine trees located on a nearby hill. By 1873 the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

had been constructed to a point north of the town to a point they called Tres Pinos station, causing much confusion. In 1874 the name of the town was changed to Grogan for three months before settling on Paicines.

Geography

Hydrologic features in the area include Tres Pinos Creek, the San Benito River, and the Paicines Reservoir. The area is in the San Andreas Rift Zone area in proximity to the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...

. Areas to the south and east are mountainous. The county line runs along the Gabilan Range. The community is a gateway to Pinnacles National Park, a National Park straddling the mountains along the Monterey-San Benito County line. The ZIP Code is 95043. The community is inside area code 831. The local prefix is 389. Local telephone service is provided by Pinnacles Telephone Co., an independent telephone company.

Politics

In the state legislature, Paicines is located in the 12th

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

District, represented by Republican Anthony Cannella, and in the 28th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Anna M. Caballero. In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, Paicines is in .

Climate

According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Paicines has a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...

, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Notable residents

Famous people associated with Paicines include

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Janet C. Wolfenbarger, the highest-ranking woman in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

; her parents Eldon and Shirley Libby reside in Paicines.Janet C. Wolfenbarger
''Gilroy Dispatch'' ( Gilroy, California), 20 May 2005 (accessed 10 December 2009). Charlie Root, the famous Chicago Cubs pitcher and coach, retired there to a ranch. Actress Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; 10 June 1922 – 22 June 1969) married her third husband, Sid Luft, at what was then known as The Law Ranch, now called The Paicines Ranch. Tiburcio Vásquez, a bandido, was active in the area.

References

External links

Paicines Ranch, a long-time landmark.
{{Authority control Unincorporated communities in San Benito County, California Unincorporated communities in California