Aromas, Ca: A Small Town With Big Scents

Aromas, California, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County and San Benito County. The CDP straddles the border of the two counties, with Monterey County to its west and San Benito County to its east. The Santa Cruz County line is less than a mile to the northwest, and Santa Clara County is about two miles north. Aromas is one of four CDPs in California that are divided between two or more counties. The community is home to a Graniterock quarry and is located at 36°53′13″N 121°38′29″W.

Aromas is a census-designated place in California

Aromas is a census-designated place (CDP) in California, United States. It is an unincorporated community in Monterey County and San Benito County. The CDP straddles the border of the two counties, with Monterey County to the west and San Benito County to the east. Santa Cruz County is less than a mile to the northwest, and Santa Clara County is about two miles north.

Aromas is one of four CDPs in California that are divided between two or more counties. The others are Kingvale, Kirkwood, and Tahoma. The community was originally known as "Sand Cut", named after the Southern Pacific Railroad tunnel constructed nearby in 1871. The settlement was renamed "Aromas" around 1895, after Rancho Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente, which translates as "Ranch of the little odours and warm waters". The name "Aromas" is the plural of "aroma" in Spanish, meaning "scents".

Aromas has a land area of 4.75 square miles, is 130 feet in elevation, and had a population of 2,797 at the 2000 census, which decreased to 2,650 in 2010, and then increased to 2,708 in 2020. The population is almost equally distributed between the two counties. There are 889 households in the community. The racial makeup of Aromas is predominantly White (75%), with smaller populations of African Americans (0.6%), Native Americans (1.4%), Asians (1.8%), Pacific Islanders (0.2%), and individuals from other races (15.1%). Hispanic or Latino individuals of any race make up 34.9% of the population.

The center of town is on the south side of the valley of the Pajaro River, about one mile southwest of where the river cuts through Pajaro Gap (Chittenden Pass) at the south end of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Rogge Lane Bridge crosses the Pajaro River, connecting Santa Cruz County to the north with San Benito County and Monterey County to the south. Aromas is home to a Graniterock quarry, and Fireclay Tile, a manufacturer of architectural tile, has been operating in the community since 1986.

It is split between Monterey and San Benito counties

Aromas, California is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the state of California, United States. It is located in northern Monterey County and northwestern San Benito County. The CDP straddles the border of the two counties, with Monterey County to the west and San Benito County to the east. The Santa Cruz County line is less than a mile to the northwest, and Santa Clara County is about two miles (3 km) to the north.

Aromas is one of a few CDPs in California that are divided between two or more counties. The others are Kingvale (divided between Placer County and Nevada County), Kirkwood (divided between Alpine County and Amador County), and Tahoma (divided between Placer County and El Dorado County).

The population of Aromas was almost equally distributed between the two counties in the 2010 and 2020 censuses. In 2010, there were 1,358 people in Monterey County and 1,292 in San Benito County, for a total population of 2,650. In 2020, the population had increased slightly to 2,708, with 1,356 people in Monterey County and 1,352 in San Benito County.

The settlement was originally known as "Sand Cut", named after the Southern Pacific Railroad tunnel constructed nearby in 1871. The name was changed to Aromas, which is the plural of "aroma", around 1895. The name is derived from the land grant known as Rancho Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente, which translates as "Ranch of the little odors and warm waters".

The population of Aromas was 2,708 in 2020

Aromas, California, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County and San Benito County, California, United States. The population of Aromas was 2,708 in 2020, down from 2,797 in the 2000 census. The CDP is divided almost equally between the two counties, with 1,358 residents in Monterey County and 1,292 in San Benito County.

Aromas is one of four CDPs in California that are divided between two or more counties. The others are Kingvale (Placer County and Nevada County), Kirkwood (Alpine County and Amador County), and Tahoma (Placer County and El Dorado County).

The settlement was originally known as "Sand Cut", named after the Southern Pacific Railroad tunnel constructed in 1871. The name was changed to Aromas, which is Spanish for "Scents", around 1895.

Aromas is located in northern Monterey County and northwestern San Benito County. U.S. Route 101 runs along the southeastern edge of the community, with Gilroy 13 miles (21 km) north and Salinas 14 miles (23 km) south. The CDP has a total area of 4.75 square miles (12.3 km2), with 4.74 square miles (12.3 km2) of land and 0.01 square miles (0.026 km2) of water.

The center of town is on the south side of the valley of the Pajaro River, about 1 mile (1.6 km) southwest of where the river cuts through Pajaro Gap (Chittenden Pass) at the south end of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Santa Cruz County line is less than a mile to the northwest, and Santa Clara County is about 2 miles (3 km) to the north.

The Aromas-San Juan School District serves the community and includes Aromas Elementary School, San Juan School, and Anzar High School.

The town was originally known as Sand Cut

The town of Aromas, California, was originally known as Sand Cut. The settlement began its life in October 1835 as the Mexican Rancho Aromitas y Agua Caliente (translated from Spanish as Little Odors & Warm Water Ranch). The name may have been a reference to the nearby Soda Lake and its sulphur spring, which later became the focus of a short-lived resort.

With the American annexation of California in 1846, the rancho became Rancho Las Aromas, and the name stuck. However, the community really came to life in 1871 when the Southern Pacific Railroad built its railroad through Pajaro Gap and Chittenden Pass, following the south bank of the Pajaro River. To get through to Pajaro to the west, a short tunnel was constructed just to the west of Aromas. It seems that the tunnel was either never fully completed or collapsed soon after construction, as it was noted as "Sand Cut" from as early as the 1880s. The settlement was named after this tunnel.

The site of the cut today is still a deep cut, overgrown with trees and shrubs on the cut's walls. To the east, vast reserves of aggregate material discovered during the excavation of the railroad right-of-way immediately became a quarry for use by the railroad. It would be this quarry that gave new life to the Aromas community, converting it within twenty years into the town as it is known today.

In 1894, a post office under the name Aromas opened, and the railroad set up a stop on the fringe of the community centre probably around the same time. The settlement was officially renamed Aromas, after Rancho Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente, around 1895.

Aromas is home to a Graniterock quarry

Aromas, California is home to a Graniterock quarry, with the A.R. Wilson Quarry owned and operated by the Watsonville-based company. The quarry is located at 1900 Quarry Road, Aromas, CA 95004-9601. Graniterock is an American corporation founded in 1900 as "Granite Rock" and based in Watsonville, California. The company operates in the construction industry, providing crushed gravel, sand, concrete, asphalt, and paving services.

The Granite Rock Company was founded by Arthur Roberts (A.R.) Wilson and Warren R. Porter. The company's first quarry was a small granite quarry on Judge Logan's ranch east of Watsonville, which supplied rock for the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The quarry on the San Andreas Fault had the advantage of minimizing drilling and blasting costs by mining rock broken by fault movement. In the early days, around fifteen men used manual tools like sledgehammers and shovels to break and load rocks onto horse-drawn wagons.

The A.R. Wilson Quarry in Aromas has played a significant role in the company's history. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the demand for construction materials increased, and the Aromas quarry expanded to meet this demand. The company purchased new equipment, such as a Marion Steam Shovel in 1909, and a larger rock crusher capable of producing 175 tons per hour in 1911. The Aromas quarry also supplied materials for projects like the old Gilroy City Hall and the old San Francisco Wells Fargo Building.

In the 1930s, Graniterock opened California's first asphaltic concrete plant in Aromas and began the state's first delivery of pre-mixed concrete using dump trucks. During World War II, the quarry provided materials for the construction of Fort Ord, Camp McQuaide, and the Navy airstrip in Watsonville. A new primary crushing plant was built at the quarry in 1946. The Aromas quarry has continued to be a vital asset for Graniterock, contributing to the company's growth and expansion in the construction materials industry.

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