Ben Lomond, California

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 CDP includes the communities of Glen Arbor and Brackney. The population was 6,337 at the 2020 census.

History

The nearby Ben Lomond Mountain was named after the mountain in Scotland by John Burns, a Scottish man who settled on the west side of the ridge in 1851. 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.

Alba School, a one-room schoolhouse, was constructed in 1895 and was in use until 1940; it later served as a library and a community center. It was destroyed in the CZU Lightning Complex fires in August 2020.

Geography

Ben Lomond is located on State Highway 9, about from Santa Cruz and from San Jose (the nearest major city) at (37.09, -122.09). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of . 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 (in actuality a long ridge whose highest point has an elevation of ).

Northeast of Ben Lomond is Loch Lomond, a reservoir built on Newell Creek and named after the original Loch Lomond in Scotland.

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 and an average annual snowfall of

The surrounding mountains and hills trapping heat allow for the summers to become considerably warmer than the surrounding locations despite the area being near the bay and ocean. As a result, summer highs have averages near and can even reach more than . In addition, frost in winter nights are more common than the surrounding areas as the higher elevation and lack of a maritime effect allow for cooler overnight temperatures to occur.

The record high temperature was on September 6, 2020, and the record low temperature was on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 53.6 days annually with highs of or higher and 36.6 days with lows of or lower.

The wettest year was 1983, with of precipitation and the driest year was 2013, with . The most precipitation in one month was in December 1955. The most precipitation in 24 hours was on January 4, 1982. There are an average of 76 days with measurable precipitation. The heaviest 24-hour snowfall was on January 21, 1962.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Ben Lomond had a population of 6,337. The population density was . The racial makeup of Ben Lomond was 83.3% White, 0.5% African American, 0.8% Native American, 1.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.3% from other races, and 10.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.6% of the population.

The census reported that 99.0% of the population lived in households, 1.0% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 2,492 households, out of which 27.1% included children under the age of 18, 53.0% were married-couple households, 7.9% were cohabiting couple households, 20.9% had a female householder with no partner present, and 18.1% had a male householder with no partner present. 22.5% of households were one person, and 9.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52. There were 1,669 families (67.0% of all households).

The age distribution was 18.1% under the age of 18, 6.4% aged 18 to 24, 24.2% aged 25 to 44, 30.9% aged 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 45.8years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males.

There were 2,620 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,492 (95.1%) were occupied. Of these, 74.7% were owner-occupied, and 25.3% were occupied by renters.

2023 estimates

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 13.4% of the population were foreign-born. Of all people aged 5 or older, 80.5% spoke only English at home, 3.5% spoke Spanish, 14.0% spoke other Indo-European languages, 1.1% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 1.0% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 97.2% were high school graduates and 46.2% had a bachelor's degree.

The median household income was $120,977, and the per capita income was $62,910. About 0.0% of families and 4.2% of the population were below the poverty line.

Business

Love Creek is on the east side of the business district of Ben Lomond, along Highway 9.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Ben Lomond is in , and in .

In the United States House of Representatives, Ben Lomond is in .

Transportation

Santa Cruz Metro Transit Bus Route 35 and 35E goes through Ben Lomond.

Notable people

* Guillermo Wagner Granizo (1923–1995) ceramic tile muralist, lived in Ben Lomond from the 1970s until 1980.
* Jim Jeffries (1875–1953), boxer, trained in the 1940s at the now defunct Wagon Wheel Bar and Restaurant.

References

External links

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1887 establishments in California
Census-designated places in California
Census-designated places in Santa Cruz County, California
Populated places established in 1887