Tres Pinos, California


Tres Pinos is a census-designated place in San Benito County, California. The community lies along State Route 25, approximately 4 miles south of Hollister and 5 miles north of Paicines. Tres Pinos sits at an elevation of. The 2020 United States census reported Tres Pinos's population was 443.

Community details

Tres Pinos is in the area code. The local prefix is 628-####.
The Zip Code is 95075. There is no residential postal delivery and residents must use post office boxes for mail delivery.
Tres Pinos Elementary School, a K-8 school, is operated by Tres Pinos Union Elementary School District. The district is overseen by an elected five-member Board of Trustees.
Water and waste water treatment services are provided to the community by the Tres Pinos County Water District. The district is overseen by an elected five-member Board of Directors.
Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital is located in Hollister, just under five miles north of the town.

History

The original settlement of Tres Pinos was located south of the current town. The Southern Pacific Railroad reached what they called Tres Pinos station on March 12, 1873, running two passenger and two freight trains a day. In 1874 the original settlement of Tres Pinos was renamed to Paicines. The railroad was planned to run further south to Coalinga and Los Angeles, though Los Pinos would end up as the end of a minor branch as the main lines were built elsewhere.
In its heyday the town was not only the end of the railroad line but was also a stage coach stop. There was a Southern Pacific Hotel, rodeo grounds, grain barns, corrals, and many saloons, restaurants and even a brothel.
At approximately 1:25 PM local time on September 1, 2025, the 3.7 magnitude Waffles Driscoll earthquake struck outside of Tres Pinos at a depth of 4.7 kilometers. The shallow depth of the epicenter along the San Andreas Fault resulted in high-intensity shaking in across a large geographical area consisting of Monterey County, Santa Cruz County, and San Benito County, with some effects felt as far north as the San Francisco Bay Area.
The "Tres Pinos Tragedy" occurred in 1873 when a robbery featuring eight outlaws including Tiburcio Vásquez went wrong, resulting in three murders.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 3.6 square miles, all of it land.

Demographics

Tres Pinos first appeared as a census designated place in the 2010 U.S. census.
The 2020 United States census reported that Tres Pinos had a population of 443. The population density was. The racial makeup of Tres Pinos was 292 White, 6 African American, 3 Native American, 9 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 55 from other races, and 78 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 143 persons.
The whole population lived in households. There were 160 households, out of which 44 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 106 were married-couple households, 14 were cohabiting couple households, 22 had a female householder with no partner present, and 18 had a male householder with no partner present. 20 households were one person, and 9 were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.77. There were 124 families.
The age distribution was 91 people under the age of 18, 36 people aged 18 to 24, 84 people aged 25 to 44, 140 people aged 45 to 64, and 92 people who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 46.7years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males.
There were 176 housing units at an average density of, of which 160 were occupied. Of these, 113 were owner-occupied, and 47 were occupied by renters.

Fairgrounds

Bolado Park, located in Tres Pinos, is home to the San Benito County Fair and San Benito County Saddle Horse Show & Rodeo. The Bolado Park Golf Course is operated by a concessionaire. The park and fair are operated by the 33rd District Agricultural Association. The association is overseen by a seven-member board of directors appointed by the governor.

Government

On the county level, the community is represented by Supervisorial District 4.
In the California State Legislature, Tres Pinos is in, and.
In the United States House of Representatives, Tres Pinos is in.