Carmel Valley
Unincorporated community Census county division
From top down, left to right: Carmel Valley panoramio;Carmel River;Garland Ranch Regional Park;Jamesburg Earth Station
Location of Carmel Valley inMonterey County and the state ofCalifornia
Carmel Valley Location in California Show map of California Carmel Valley Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Coordinates:36°28′38″N121°44′22″W / 36.47722°N 121.73944°W /36.47722; -121.73944
Country	United States
State	California
County	Monterey
Government
• Board of Supervisors	Mary Adams (politician)[2]
• State senator	John Laird (D)[3]
• Assemblymember	Robert Rivas (D)[3]
• U. S. rep.	Jimmy Panetta (D)[4]
Area [5]
• Total	189.65 sq mi (491.2 km2)
• Land	189.05 sq mi (489.6 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (1.6 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	6,189[1]
Time zone	UTC-8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP code	93924[6]
Area code	831
FIPS code	0605390370
GNIS feature ID	270303

Carmel Valley is anunincorporated community inMonterey County, California, United States. The term "Carmel Valley" generally refers to theCarmel River watershed east ofCalifornia State Route 1, and not specifically to the smallerCarmel Valley Village.^[5][1] For statistical purposes, theUnited States Census Bureau has defined Carmel Valley as acensus county division (CCD),^[1] with an area covering approximately 189 square miles (490 km²).^[5] At the time of the 2020 census the CCD population was 6,189.^[1] In November 2009, a majority of residents voted against incorporation.

The earliest archaeological findings show that Carmel Valley had two separate tribes, theEsselens that lived in Upper Carmel Valley and theRumsens lived from Mid-Carmel Valley to the mouth of Carmel Valley.^[8]

The mouth of Carmel Valley where the Carmel River runs into Carmel Bay was observed by Spanish explorerSebastián Vizcaíno shortly before he landed in Monterey Bay in December 1602. He wrote about visiting the river on January 3, 1603, but greatly exaggerated its proportions, confusing later explorers. Vizcaino named itEl Rio del Carmelo, likely because his voyage was accompanied by threeCarmelite friars.^[9]

TheRancho Los Laureles, a 6,625-acre (26.81 km²)Mexican land grant in present-dayMonterey County, California, was given in 1839 by GovernorJuan Alvarado toJosé Manuel Boronda and Vicente Blas Martínez.^[10] The grant extended along theCarmel River in Carmel Valley; and encompassed present day Carmel Valley. In 1882, thePacific Improvement Company (PIC) purchased the Rancho Los Laureles. In 1916,Samuel F.B. Morse became the manager of the PIC and his job was to liquidate the PIC holdings (10,000 acres (4,000 ha)).^[8]

James Meadows (1817–1902) was an English-born immigrant that came to Monterey in 1838. In 1842, Meadows and Loreta purchased the 4,592 acres (1,858 ha)Palo Escrito Mexican land grant from Monterey businessmanThomas O. Larkin who had acquired several land grants in California. He donated land and helped found the Carmelo School, which was the earliest school in Carmel Valley. TheJames Meadows Tract was between theRancho Cañada de la Segunda to the west,Rancho Los Laureles to the northeast, andGarland Ranch Regional Park to the south. His daughter,Isabel Meadows, was anOhlone ethnologist and the last fluent speaker of theRumsenOhlone language.^[11]

William Hatton (1849–1894), born inIreland and married to Kate Harney (1851–1922), came to California in 1870. In 1888, Hatton became the manager ofRancho Cañada de la Segunda, which extended along the north bank of theCarmel River into the mouth of Carmel Valley. The land was owned by Dominga Doni de Atherton, the widowed wife ofFaxon Atherton (namesake ofAtherton, California). By 1892, Hatton purchased the Rancho from Dominga. Hatton operated a dairy business, which was located at Highway 1 and Carmel Valley Road, at the site of the present-day The Barnyard Shopping Village.^[8]: p45

TheBerwick Manor and Orchard was located on Boronda Road off Carmel Valley Road in Carmel Valley. The farmstead was acquired in 1869 byEdward Berwick, a writer and educator as well as a scientific farmer. The manor and orchard was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places on November 17, 1977. The Berwick Manor and Orchard was sold in 1961 and later subdivided into what is known today as the Berwick Manor Subdivision.^[12][13]

In 1919, Morse formed the Del Monte Properties and acquired PIC. In 1923, the Del Monte Properties divided the land into 11 parcels.Marion Hollins bought 2,000 acres (810 ha). In 1926, developerFrank B. Porter bought 600 acres (240 ha). He later acquired a portion of the Hollins ranch and sold it.^[11]

TheHolman Ranch, originally part of theRancho Los Laureles, passed through many hands until 1928, whenSan Francisco businessman, Gordon Armsby, purchased 400-acre (1.6 km²) in Carmel Valley. He built a Spanish-style hacienda out of Carmel stone withterracotta roofing, and oak-beamed ceilings. It became a Hollywood retreat forCharlie Chaplin,Theda Bara,Marlon Brando, andClark Gable. Today, the Holman Ranch is a privately owned winery, with a tasting room and offers a venue for weddings and special events.^{[14][15][8]: p100}

Further up the valley was theRancho Tularcitos. Settlement in the Cachagua area, situated further up the valley, took place in the 1870s and 1890s. This period coincided with the recession of the 1890s, which led people from the Salinas Valley to seek new opportunities in Cachagua. They migrated to the region and acquired small parcels of land, engaging in subsistence farming to sustain themselves during challenging economic times.^[16]

According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the Carmel Valley CCD covers a total area of 189.65 square miles (491 km²), comprising 189.05 square miles (489.6 km²) of land and 0.6 square miles (1.6 km²) of water.^[5] Within the CCD, theCarmel Valley Village lies on the eastern bank of theCarmel River while the community ofRobles del Rio is located on the western bank. Carmel Valley Road (County Route G16) is the main route through the valley, connecting toCalifornia State Route 1 near theCity of Carmel to the west.

The Carmel River drains the area of Carmel Valley. Primary ecosystems of the vicinity includeCalifornia oak woodland,riparian woodland,chaparral,grassland andsavanna. Dominant oak trees includeQuercus agrifolia. The locale of Carmel Valley is also the northernmost range of the hybrid oakQuercus x alvordiana.^[17]

TheGarland Ranch Regional Park is located at 700 West Carmel Valley Road. The Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District (MPRPD) manages the Garland Ranch Regional Park.

This region experiences warm dry summers (aMediterranean climate according to theKöppen Climate Classification system), with average monthly temperatures peaking at 80.6 °F (27.0 °C) in September.^[18]

At the2020 census Carmel Valley had a population of 6,189. The racial makeup of Carmel Valley was 5,502 White, 32 African American, 57 Native American, 126 Asian, 17 Pacific Islander, 270 from other races, and 685 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 624.^[20]

The age distribution was 1.7% under the age of 5; 16.0% under the age of 18, 84.0% 18 years and over; and 37.5% 65 or older. The median age was 58.8 years.^[20]

At the county level, Carmel Valley is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors byMary L. Adams, as the 5th District Supervisor.^[21]

In theCalifornia State Assembly, Carmel Valley is inthe 17th senatorial district, represented byDemocrat John Laird, and inthe 29th Assembly district, represented byDemocrat Robert Rivas.^[22] In theUnited States House of Representatives, Carmel Valley is inCalifornia's 19th congressional district, represented byDemocrat Jimmy Panetta.^[23]

Carmel Valley Airfield is a defunct airfield that was a privately ownedairpark in Carmel Valley from 1941 to 2002.^[24] The airport was later called the Carmel Valley Vintage Airfield. The historical resources commission found that development of the site was important as it represented the first planned residentialairpark in the United States.^[25] The airfield closed in 2002.^[26]

Carmel Valley has a number of wine tasting rooms, as well as several high-end hotels affiliated with the wineries. Wineries with tasting rooms in Carmel Valley include Holman Ranch, Bernardus, Boëté, Chateau Sinnet, Folktale, Galante, Georis, Heller Estate, Joullian Village, Joyce Vineyards, Parsonage, San Saba and Talbott.^[27] A public bus, called the Grapevine Express Route 24 and run by Monterey-Salinas Transit, stops at most of these tasting rooms.^[28]

The Monterey Wine Trolley also offers a tour on a former San Francisco trolley that makes stops at several wineries in the Monterey Peninsula and Carmel Valley.^[29]

The Lost Padre Mines of theCarmel Mission have woven themselves into the tapestry of local folklore, with their legacy recounted through various accounts, including those within Randall Reinstadt's notable works such asGhosts, Bandits, and Legends of Old Monterey, Carmel and Surrounding Areas andTales and Treasures of California Missions. These narratives unveil a captivating history, suggesting that indigenous communities held knowledge of abundant gold deposits concealed within the untamed terrain of theSanta Lucia Mountains. As whispers of these riches echoed through time, the enigmatic Lost Padre Mines became a testament to the allure of hidden treasures and the enduring mystique of the land. Numerous iterations of these legends appear to have originated from long-time residents of Carmel Valley. It is plausible that this phenomenon can be attributed to some of the final descendants of the Mission Indians who resided and labored in the area.^[30][31][32]

• TheJamesburg Earth Station, one of the world's largest tracking satellite dish antennas, is located in Carmel Valley. This telecommunication facility was used byNASA during itsApollo Moon landings. Currently it is being used byLone Signal, a crowdfunded activeSETI project designed to send messages from Earth to an extraterrestrial civilization.
• Gold was hidden somewhere in Carmel Valley in 1855 during a dispute over a fortune belonging toMaria Encarnacion Ortega de Sanchez, the widow of a wealthy rancher. Chief Justice of CaliforniaDavid S. Terry was involved in the so-called Widow Sanchez case.
• Stonepine Estate, a resort used to shoot the wedding ofEden Capwell and Cruz Castillo for theSanta Barbara TV series in 1988.^[33]
• Carmel Valley Road-Boronda Road Eucalyptus Tree Row is located on Boronda Road off Carmel Valley Road in Carmel Valley. The unusual street side row ofEucalyptus globulus trees was planted sometime between 1874 and 1881, byNathan Weston Spaulding, during the species' peak popularity in California forLandscaping. The landscape feature was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places on January 10, 2008.^[34]

• Angelique Cabral, American actress^[35]
• Wah Chang, American designer, sculptor, and artist^[36]
• Doris Day, American actress, singer, and animal welfare activist^[37]
• Scott Fujita, retired NFL football player forNew Orleans Saints^[38]
• Julian P. Graham, photographer of the Monterey Peninsula^[39]
• MC Lars, American rapper and producer^[40]
• Ingemar Henry Lundquist, inventor and mechanical engineer
• Michael Nesmith, musician, songwriter and filmmaker, former member ofThe Monkees^[41]
• Jimmy Panetta,Congressman^[42]
• Leon Panetta, formerUnited States Secretary of Defense, formerDirector of the Central Intelligence Agency (2009–11), formerCongressman (1977–93) andWhite House Chief of Staff (1994–97)
• Maurice White, founder of R&B/Soul groupEarth, Wind & Fire
• Alexander Weygers, a polymath Dutch-American artist who patented the design of the discopter (the "flying saucer") in 1944
• Spencer Matorin, an American musicianship who is credited with reviving rock and roll in the mainstream

• List of places in California

• CARMEL VALLEY
• Carmel Valley Association

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