Los Olivos, California

Geography

Los Olivos is a community in the Santa Ynez Valley, which is in the northern half of Santa Barbara County, California. It is one of six towns in the valley, along with Buellton to the west, Los Alamos to the northwest, Santa Ynez to the southeast, Ballard to the south, and Solvang south of Ballard. The town is located on California State Route 154. Alamo Pintado Road goes south from Los Olivos into Ballard and then Solvang. The census definition of the area was created by the Census Bureau for statistical purposes and may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name.

History

Sometime around 1880, on a bluff overlooking Alamo Pintado Creek, just north of the town of Ballard, a two-story house was built, with a wide, covered front porch and neatly symmetrical arched windows in the center gable, situated on prime farmland. It became the property of twenty-two-year-old Alden March Boyd, of Albany, New York, when he paid $8,000 for "157 acres, more or less, together with the dwelling house," in 1885. He planted five thousand olive trees, and called it Rancho De Los Olivos. The 1880s were a boom time for California. On November 16, 1887, the Pacific Coast Railway line extension from Los Alamos was completed. The developers of the narrow-gauge railway first named their town El Olivar, then El Olivos, and finally Los Olivos, after Boyd's nearby ranch.

Los Olivos was connected by the narrow gauge railroad to points north as far as San Luis Obispo until the train made its last run in 1934. The southern terminus of the railroad was in front of Mattei's Tavern, where a stagecoach line continued over San Marcos Pass into Santa Barbara.

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1850–1870 1880-1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Los Olivos first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.

The 2020 United States census reported that Los Olivos had a population of 1,202. The population density was 459.3 PD/sqmi. The racial makeup of Los Olivos was 972 (80.9%) White, 0 (0.0%) African American, 9 (0.7%) Native American, 7 (0.6%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 115 (9.6%) from other races, and 99 (8.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 201 persons (16.7%).

The census reported that 1,124 people (93.5% of the population) lived in households, 78 (6.5%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 422 households, out of which 111 (26.3%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 239 (56.6%) were married-couple households, 23 (5.5%) were cohabiting couple households, 93 (22.0%) had a female householder with no partner present, and 67 (15.9%) had a male householder with no partner present. 100 households (23.7%) were one person, and 53 (12.6%) were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.66.

The age distribution was 230 people (19.1%) under the age of 18, 83 people (6.9%) aged 18 to 24, 233 people (19.4%) aged 25 to 44, 363 people (30.2%) aged 45 to 64, and 293 people (24.4%) who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 49.4years. For every 100 females, there were 92.3 males.

There were 474 housing units at an average density of 181.1 /mi2, of which 422 (89.0%) were occupied. Of these, 307 (72.7%) were owner-occupied, and 115 (27.3%) were occupied by renters.

Economy and tourism

Los Olivos is known for its wineries and tasting rooms. Starting in Los Olivos and stretching north is the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail.

There are a number of large thoroughbred horse ranches in the area. Mattei's Tavern, a former stagecoach stop, is a restaurant.

Education

The Los Olivos School District operates Los Olivos Elementary School.

There are two private college-prep schools, Dunn School and Midland School. Dunn School is located along SR 154 and has both boarding and day students. Midland School is located on Figueroa Mountain Road and has only boarding students.

Climate

Under the Köppen Climate Classification, "dry-summer subtropical" climates are often referred to as "Mediterranean". Los Olivos has a mean yearly temperature of 61.6 °F (16.4 °C). The average high temperature in the summer months is 92 °F (33.3 °C), while the average low temperature in the winter months is 39.5 °F (4.2 °C). Summers are dry with little to no rain falling from June through September. Winters are mild and wet with the majority of the yearly precipitation (nearly 80%) falling from December through March.

In popular culture

In May 1986, Los Olivos was used as the location setting for the fictional town of "Mayberry" in the made-for-TV movie Return to Mayberry, based on the popular 1960s sitcom The Andy Griffith Show. Several locations in Los Olivos were featured in the 2004 movie Sideways highlighting Santa Barbara county's viticulture. The Los Olivos Grand Hotel, built in 1985, is now Fess Parker's Wine Country Inn, owned by the family of former Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett star Fess Parker (1924–2010). Parker and his wines were featured on the NBC daytime drama Santa Barbara (first episode of Season Two) of James May and Oz Clarke's Big Wine Adventure. Episodes of The Bachelor were filmed in Los Olivos.

Portions of the 1983 video for the song "Say Say Say", with Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, were filmed at Sycamore Ranch, 5 mi from the town. According to La Toya Jackson, the McCartneys were staying at Sycamore Ranch during the filming. At the time, Jackson expressed interest in someday buying the property. In 1988, he would do so, renaming it Neverland Ranch.

Notable people

US President Ronald Reagan lived about 9 mi south at Rancho del Cielo. Musician Michael Jackson's property Neverland Ranch is located about 5 mi north.

References

References

1. "US Census Bureau".
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
3. {{gnis. 2583064
4. White, Ted. (2005). "Broadcast News: Writing, Reporting, and Producing". Focal Press.
5. Rubin, Elycia. (2023-03-05). "Santa Barbara Wine Country: The Best Places to Eat, Stay and Sip in the Santa Ynez Valley".
6. Grimm, Michele. (1987-12-20). "Gentle Love Story With a Mapped-Out Plot".
7. Etling, William. (2005). "Sideways in Neverland: Life in the Santa Ynez Valley". iUniverse.
8. "Decennial Census by Decade".
9. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County".
10. "1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County".
11. "1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions".
12. "1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions".
13. "1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California".
14. "1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
15. "1930 Census of Population - Number and Distribution of Inhabitants - California".
16. "1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
17. "1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
18. "1960 Census of Population - General population Characteristics - California".
19. "1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
20. "1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California".
21. "1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
22. "2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
23. "2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California".
24. "Los Olivos CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
25. "Los Olivos CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing".
26. Kettmann, Matt. (2020-09-04). "A Blessing and a Curse: Embracing the Complex Variety of Wines from California's Santa Barbara County".
27. "Monthly Averages for Los Olivos, CA (93441)". The Weather Channel.
28. Loe, David. (June 1, 2018). "Renovated Santa Barbara resort will no longer carry Fess Parker name". [[Ventura County Star]].
29. Appel, Stacey. (2012). "Michael Jackson Style". Omnibus Press.
30. Suarez, Jonathan. (February 1, 2010). "Passed Away".
31. (29 May 2012). "Starting Over". Simon and Schuster.
32. Blistein, Jon. (2017-03-02). "Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch Devalued in Real Estate Market".
33. Orozco, Lance. (2024-08-19). "Could the First Family be coming to Santa Barbara County?".