Mount Hermon is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 count ...

(CDP) in

Santa Cruz County, California Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the San ...

History

In 1841, California's first water-powered

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

was built at the junction of Bean Creek and

Zayante Creek Zayante Creek (Ohlone: ''Sayant'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 stream within the San Lorenzo River watershed in Santa Cruz County, California, Uni ...

Peter Lassen Peter Lassen (October 31, 1800 – April 26, 1859), later known in Spanish as Don Pedro Lassen, was a Danish-born Californian ranchero and gold prospector. Born in Denmark, Lassen immigrated at age 30 to Massachusetts, before eventually final ...

Isaac Graham Isaac Graham (April 15, 1800 – November 8, 1863) was a fur trader, mountain man, and land grant owner in 19th century California. In 1830, he joined a hunting and trapping party at Fort Smith, Arkansas that included George Nidever. Graham ...

, J. Majors, and F. Hoeger. Mount Hermon, known as "Tuxedo Junction" prior to 1906, was a stop on the South Coast Pacific Railroad from

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

to Santa Cruz. Hotel Tuxedo was on the property; the hotel was purchased and renamed the Zayante Inn on April 14, 1906, by a group which later became the Mount Hermon Association, Inc. Five ladies of the group were entrusted with the selection of a new name for the area, and they chose that of the peak in the Holy Land. The land was to be used as a Christian retreat center, whose dedication day, known as "The Great Day", was July 22, 1906; the event was held at the Zayante Inn with 1400 people in attendance. Speaking at the dedication was Dr. Reuben A. Torrey, President of the

Moody Bible Institute Moody Bible Institute (MBI) is a private evangelical Christian Bible college founded in the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, US by evangelist and businessman Dwight Lyman Moody in 1886. Historically, MBI has maintained positions that have ...

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. The Zayante Inn and surrounding cottages were destroyed by fire on April 18, 1921. At the site, the Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center, with three separate facilities, operates on much of the original property. There are also several hundred privately owned homes, the Mount Hermon post office, and a bookstore.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP covers an area of , all of it land.

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 servi ...

reported that Mount Hermon had a population of 1,037. The population density was . The racial makeup of Mount Hermon was 964 (93.0%)

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 o ...

, 6 (0.6%)

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 ...

, 3 (0.3%) Native American, 14 (1.4%) Asian, 1 (0.1%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 18 (1.7%) 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 31 (3.0%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 83 persons (8.0%). The Census reported that 100% of the population lived in households. There were 408 households, out of which 128 (31.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 204 (50.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 44 (10.8%) had a female householder with no husband present, 17 (4.2%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 27 (6.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 6 (1.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 100 households (24.5%) were made up of individuals, and 25 (6.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54. There were 265

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. Ideal ...

(65.0% of all households); the average family size was 3.06. The population was spread out, with 237 people (22.9%) under the age of 18, 81 people (7.8%) aged 18 to 24, 278 people (26.8%) aged 25 to 44, 342 people (33.0%) aged 45 to 64, and 99 people (9.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.2 males. There were 530 housing units at an average density of , of which 51.5% were owner-occupied and 48.5% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.3%. 54.6% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 45.4% lived in rental housing units.

Notable people

* Jordan Beck, NFL football player * Joy Williams, singer – moved here with her family in 1993 when her father became CEO of Mount Hermon Christian Camps and Conference Center

References

External links

Santa Cruz Wiki - The People's Guide to Santa Cruz County, California.

Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center

Santa Cruz Public Libraries History of Mount Hermon

{{authority control Census-designated places in Santa Cruz County, California Unincorporated communities in Santa Cruz County, California 1841 establishments in Alta California Census-designated places in California Unincorporated communities in California