Gonzales (Gonzales)
Gonzales is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. Gonzales is located 16 mi southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 135 ft. The population was 8,647 at the 2020 census, up from 8,187 at the 2010 census. Gonzales is a member of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments. Gonzales won the Culture of Health Prize from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2019.
Gonzales was founded by Dr. Mariano Gonzalez and his brother Alfredo Gonzales on land that was originally Rancho Rincon de la Puente del Monte. The rancho was given to their father, Teodoro Gonzalez, in 1836 while he was serving as alcalde of Monterey.
The brothers laid out the 50-block town on approximately 15000 acre in 1874 in a grid of northeast to southwest and northwest to southeast streets. In 1872, they granted a 100 ft right-of-way through town to Southern Pacific Railroad, which subsequently built a depot for freight and passengers. The dominant commerce at the time was grain raising and cattle ranching. The Gonzalez brothers are also credited with constructing one of the first irrigation systems in the Salinas Valley. They built a dam and head gate on the nearby Salinas River and miles of canals throughout the area.
In the early 1900s, Gonzales became a predominantly Swiss dairy community when John B. Meyenberg brought his original milk processing procedures to the region. His Alpine Milk Company, later known as the Meyenberg Milk Products Company, opened its first plant in Gonzales in 1906. At one time, there were 7,000 cows within five miles of town being milked.
Prior to being nicknamed the "Wine Capital of Monterey County", Gonzales was known as "The Heart of the Salad Bowl" (due to its central location in the agricultural valley). Before that it was nicknamed "Little Switzerland" (due to the similarities of the valley landscape to Switzerland as well as the predominantly Swiss community at the time).
Dairy farming gave way to orchards and row crops in the 1920s and prospered due to the rich soil and advancements in irrigation, machinery and transportation facilities. These improvements to agriculture technology turned the Salinas Valley into the nation's premier agricultural center. Today, there is only one dairy farm left near town.
The first school house was built in 1874. The first church, the Gonzales Baptist Church, was built in 1884 and still holds weekly worship services today.
St. Theodore Catholic Church, named for Teodoro Gonzales, was built in 1883.
The town was officially incorporated January 10, 1947.
Gonzales was founded by Dr. Mariano Gonzalez and his brother Alfredo Gonzales on land that was originally Rancho Rincon de la Puente del Monte. The rancho was given to their father, Teodoro Gonzalez, in 1836 while he was serving as alcalde of Monterey.
The brothers laid out the 50-block town on approximately 15000 acre in 1874 in a grid of northeast to southwest and northwest to southeast streets. In 1872, they granted a 100 ft right-of-way through town to Southern Pacific Railroad, which subsequently built a depot for freight and passengers. The dominant commerce at the time was grain raising and cattle ranching. The Gonzalez brothers are also credited with constructing one of the first irrigation systems in the Salinas Valley. They built a dam and head gate on the nearby Salinas River and miles of canals throughout the area.
In the early 1900s, Gonzales became a predominantly Swiss dairy community when John B. Meyenberg brought his original milk processing procedures to the region. His Alpine Milk Company, later known as the Meyenberg Milk Products Company, opened its first plant in Gonzales in 1906. At one time, there were 7,000 cows within five miles of town being milked.
Prior to being nicknamed the "Wine Capital of Monterey County", Gonzales was known as "The Heart of the Salad Bowl" (due to its central location in the agricultural valley). Before that it was nicknamed "Little Switzerland" (due to the similarities of the valley landscape to Switzerland as well as the predominantly Swiss community at the time).
Dairy farming gave way to orchards and row crops in the 1920s and prospered due to the rich soil and advancements in irrigation, machinery and transportation facilities. These improvements to agriculture technology turned the Salinas Valley into the nation's premier agricultural center. Today, there is only one dairy farm left near town.
The first school house was built in 1874. The first church, the Gonzales Baptist Church, was built in 1884 and still holds weekly worship services today.
St. Theodore Catholic Church, named for Teodoro Gonzales, was built in 1883.
The town was officially incorporated January 10, 1947.
Map - Gonzales (Gonzales)
Map
Country - United_States
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| Flag of the United States | |
Indigenous peoples have inhabited the Americas for thousands of years. Beginning in 1607, British colonization led to the establishment of the Thirteen Colonies in what is now the Eastern United States. They quarreled with the British Crown over taxation and political representation, leading to the American Revolution and proceeding Revolutionary War. The United States declared independence on July 4, 1776, becoming the first nation-state founded on Enlightenment principles of unalienable natural rights, consent of the governed, and liberal democracy. The country began expanding across North America, spanning the continent by 1848. Sectional division surrounding slavery in the Southern United States led to the secession of the Confederate States of America, which fought the remaining states of the Union during the American Civil War (1861–1865). With the Union's victory and preservation, slavery was abolished nationally by the Thirteenth Amendment.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD | United States dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
|---|---|
| EN | English language |
| FR | French language |
| ES | Spanish language |