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California State...
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California Counties
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California Counties
The U.S. state of California is divided into fifty-eight counties.
On January 4, 1850, the California constitutional committee recommended the formation of 18 counties. They were
Benicia, Butte, Fremont, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Monterey, Mount Diablo, Oro, Redding, Sacramento, San Diego, San
Francisco, San Joaquin, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, and Sutter. On April 22, the counties
of Branciforte, Calaveras, Coloma, Colusi, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Trinity, and Yuba were added. Benicia was
renamed Solano, Coloma to El Dorado, Fremont to Yola, Mt. Diablo to Contra Costa, San Jose to Santa Clara, Oro
to Tuolumne, and Redding to Shasta. One of the first state legislative acts regarding counties was to rename
Branciforte County to Santa Cruz, Colusi to Colusa, and Yola to Yolo.
The last California county to have been established is Imperial County in 1907. |
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Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education
County Seat: Santa Cruz
Year Organized: 1850
Square Miles: 446 |
Court House: 701 Ocean Street, Rm 500
County Courthouse
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-4003
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Etymology - Origin of County Name
In the original act, the county was given the name of
Branciforte after the Spanish pueblo founded there in 1797. Less than two months
later, the name was changed to Santa Cruz. Established in 1791 and completed in
1794, the Santa Cruz Mission was destroyed by earthquake in 1857, but a
smaller-scale replica was erected in 1931. Santa Cruz signifies "holy cross."
Demographics:
County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick
Facts
History
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, just south of the San
Francisco Bay Area. The county seat is Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of
statehood.
In the original act, the county was given the name of "Branciforte" after the Spanish pueblo founded
there in 1797; a major watercourse in the county, Branciforte Creek, bears this name. Less than two
months later, the name was changed to "Santa Cruz" ("Holy Cross"). Mission Santa Cruz, established in
1791 and completed in 1794, was destroyed by an earthquake in 1857, but a smaller-scale replica was
erected in 1931.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 607 square miles (1,573 kmē), of
which, 445 square miles (1,153 kmē) of it is land and 162 square miles (419 kmē) of it (26.67%) is
water. Of California's counties, only San Francisco is physically smaller.
The county is a strip about ten miles wide between the coast and the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains
at the northern end of the Monterey Bay. It can be divided roughly into four regions: the rugged "north
coast"; the urban City of Santa Cruz, Soquel, Capitola, and Aptos; mountainous Bonny Doon, San Lorenzo
River Valley; and fertile "south county", including Watsonville. Agriculture is concentrated in the
coastal lowlands of the county's northern and southern ends. Most of the coastline is flanked by cliffs.
Neighboring Counties:
- Northeast: Santa Clara County
- Southeast: San Benito County; Monterey County
- Southwest: North Pacific Ocean
- Northwest: San Mateo County
Cities and Towns:
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- Capitola |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Los Gatos |
town |
Incorporated Area |
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- Santa Cruz
(County Seat) |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Scotts Valley |
city |
Incorporated Area |
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- Watsonville |
city |
Incorporated Area |
County Resources:
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County Resource Guide
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The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic
features of our country!"
But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.
Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally,
act locally." |
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