Los Banos, California

The town's Spanish name Los Baños means "the baths".;[7] it is named after a spring that feeds natural wetlands in the western San Joaquín Valley.[8] Its official spelling, reflected in the name of its post office, omits the tilde of the ñ,[9] though some signs in town show its name as Los Baños.

Los Banos is located on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Merced,[10] at approximately 118 ft (36 m) elevation.[4] Its coordinates are 37°03′30″N 120°51′00″W.[4] The city is at the intersection of California State Route 152 and California State Route 165. To the west is Interstate 5, which runs north-to-south between the Bay Area and Los Angeles, the San Luis Reservoir, and the Diablo Range.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.1 square miles (26 km²), of which 10.0 square miles (26 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (1.22%) is water.

North levee, San Luis Refuge (March 2007)

Los Banos sits on the southwestern edge of extensive national and state game refuges; wetlands that support waterfowl and other wildlife habitat along a stretch of the San Joaquin river that still carries water and the Grasslands Ecological Area, home to rare California Grasslands habitat. The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex includes San Luis National Wildlife Refuge which includes the Kesterson Unit, East Bear Creek, West Bear Creek and the Blue Goose Unit. Nearby are the Merced National Wildlife Refuge and the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. Fishers, hunters, birdwatchers and other recreational users flock to Los Banos year round.

In the California State Legislature, Los Banos is in the 12th Senate District, represented by Democrat Anna Caballero, and in the 21st Assembly District, represented by Democrat Adam Gray.[15]

In the United States House of Representatives, Los Banos is in California's 16th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of D +7[16] and is represented by Democrat Jim Costa.[17]

Mike Villalta is the mayor.[2]

The Los Banos area was initially settled, according to Mexican land grant records, back in the 1840s. The first white settler in the area was Uriah Wood, who built his two-room cabin in 1859.[18] The original site of Los Banos was located several miles from the current town center, about a mile and half west of the railroad near present-day Volta. The town was essentially a trading post and received its name when the Post Office was established and the Post Office Department designated the office "Los Banos" after the nearby creek. When the railroad arrived, Los Banos relocated to its present-day site.[19] The first post office opened in 1873.[10]

Land and water rights were important to early Los Banos residents, but those rights were recognized only when the land and deed were registered. Sometimes those rights depended on fleet footedness, as it did in the "race" between Los Banos residents Uriah Wood and Henry Miller. Wood, whose homestead was located off of Badger Flat Road, raced Miller to the land office in Stockton to insure his claim to the land would be recognized. After crossing the San Joaquin River, Wood paid the ferryman $5 to hold the boat on the east side of the river to insure he would gain sufficient distance from Miller to ensure he would reach the land office first. Wood succeeded and the seven sections that he registered cost him only 45¢ an acre.[19]

The centerpiece of downtown Los Banos is Henry Miller Plaza, honoring early California rancher, Henry Miller. The 10-acre (4.0 ha) half-oval public plaza features a monumental scale bronze arrangement of Miller with cattle. At one time in the late nineteenth century, Miller was the largest land owner in the United States. The success of his business monopolized the California agricultural industry, funneling resources and supplies to create his prosperous company. Centered around cattle farming, the Miller and Lux Corporation ultimately transformed the San Joaquin Valley into what can be considered as a precursor to corporate farming and turning independent farmers into wageworkers.[20] His company, the Miller & Lux Corporation, was headquartered in Los Banos on a site currently housing the Mexican restaurant España's and the Canal Farm Inn.

Los Banos has a long history of Portuguese and Spanish immigrants, as do many of the nearby towns on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. This is reflected both in local restaurants and in several festivals and parades that take place during the year. There is also a significant community of Basques. Los Banos is locally known for its annual May Day Fair during the first week of May.

Los Banos is home to The Randall Fawcett House which is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Usonian home.[21]

A member of the Manson family, Susan Atkins attended Los Banos High School, before joining the family.

Since the 1980s, the city's population has changed with a continuing influx of people who work in the San Jose/Silicon Valley area but seek more affordable housing and slower pace of semi-rural life, a pattern seen in many other small towns within commuting distance of Silicon Valley.

Canal Farm Inn, a California Historical Landmark

• California Historical Landmark Canal Farm Inn is located at 1460 E Pacheco Blvd, Los Banos. Canal Farm Inn is a California Historical Landmarks, number 548.

The California Historical Landmark reads:

NO. 548 CANAL FARM INN - This original San Joaquin Valley ranch headquarters of California pioneer and cattle baron Henry Miller (1827-1916) was established in 1873. His farsighted planning and development in the 1870s of a vast gravity irrigation system, and the founding of Los Banos in 1889, provided the basis for this area's present stability and wealth. [22]

K–12 education is provided by the Los Banos Unified School District. In addition, the Los Banos Campus of Merced College has served community college students since 2007.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Los Banos, California.

• Official website
• Losbanosenterprise.com: Los Banos Enterprise—local online newspaper
• OurLosBanos.com: Our Los Banos Magazine
• San Luis National Wildlife Refuge—United States Fish and Wildlife Service