San Benito County History

The history of San Benito County - Sections excerpted from A Memorial and Biographical History of the Coast Counties of Central California by Henry D. Barrows and Luther A. Ingersoll, and published by The Lewis Publishing Company in 1893.

New Idria Preservation Project - Discusses the history of New Idria and the New Idria Quicksilver Mine located in southern San Benito County.

San Juan Bautista - The Old Mission San Juan Bautista has had an unbroken succession of pastors since its founding on June 24, 1797.

San Juan Bautista History - Courtesy of: San Juan Bautista Historic Park.

The Breen Family - New Light on the Donner Party - Patrick Breen is famous for the diary he kept from November 20, 1846, to March 1, 1847, the only record we have of daily events at the mountain camps. After arriving at the lake, the Breens moved into a cabin constructed two winters previously by members of the Townsend-Stephens-Murphy Party.

A Brief History of the Pajaro Property Protective Society - Phil Reader - Vigilantism in the Pajaro Valley During 19th Century

The 1906 Earthquake - San Benito County - Pictorial works - Five photographs from the Bancroft Libarary of earthquake damage in San Benito County.

Historic Lottery Results - Since its inception in 1985, the California Lottery has created numerous millionaires and changed the lives of countless winners. From the very first jackpot win to the record-breaking SuperLotto Plus and Powerball prizes, the California Lottery's history is filled with thrilling moments and life-changing wins. Studying these historic results not only provides a sense of excitement and wonder but also serves as a reminder of the potential rewards and the enduring appeal of participating in the California Lottery.

San Benito County Courthouse - Completed 1888, the San Benito's third courthouse was a lavishly decorated building with an exterior modeled on the Farnese Palace in Rome and elaborate balustrades of polished red cedar within.

The Sanchez File - The Probate Proceedings on the drowning of José Maria Sánchez at the Pájaro River, Christmas Eve, 1852 and the Conspiracy in Monterey County to plunder the estate of his widow Encarnación Ortega.

Pinnacles National Monument - Anthropologists believe Pinnacles was intermittently occupied by small groups of Native Americans. Evidence in the form of arrowheads and acorn grinding stones have been discovered within the monument.

The Life and Career of Tiburcio Vasquez, the California Bandit and Murderer. (1875) by Eugene T. Sawyer - Tiburcio Vásquez was the last of the famous banditos to terrorize California and his death marked the end of a turbulent and often violent era that occurred after California's independence from Mexico.

Early Days at the Mission San Juan Bautista (1929) - Isaac L. Mylar (b. 1847) and his family came overland to California in 1852. For three years his father prospected for gold at Shaw's Flat before settling in the town around the old mission of San Juan Bautista in San Benito County. Early days at the mission San Juan Bautista (1929) begins with the history of the mission and memories of Mylar's boyhood and schooling in the town and his growing acquanitance with the mission church and the priests and brothers who administered it. He recalls life in the town in the 1850s when San Juan helped supply the nearby mines, and in later decades: political and business leaders, schools and churches, streets and houses, bandits and other criminals, hunting, hotels and stage lines.

The Story of a Mine (1877) by Bret Harte - This is a fictionalized story about the discovery, development and litigation of the New Idria Quicksilver Mine in southern San Benito County.