Los Banos, California, United States

🇺🇸 Los Banos, is a city in Merced County, central California. It is located in the San Joaquin Valley, near the junction of State Route 152 and Interstate 5. The city is served by Los Banos Municipal Airport for air transport access.

History The Los Banos area was initially settled, according to Mexican land-grant records, in the 1840s. The first white settler in the area was Uriah Wood, who built his two-room cabin in 1859. The original site of Los Banos was located several miles from the current town centre, 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. The first post office opened in 1873.

Land and water rights were important to early Los Banos residents, but those rights were recognised 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.

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 19th 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. 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, a Frank Lloyd Wright designed Usonian home.

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.

Geography Los Banos is located on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, 26 miles (42 km) south-west of Merced, at about 118 ft (36 m) elevation. Its coordinates are 37°03′30″N 120°51′00″W. The city is at the intersection of California State Route 152 and California State Route 165. 7 miles (11 km) to the west is Interstate 5, which extends north–south between Canada and Mexico. The San Luis Reservoir and the Diablo Range are farther to the west.

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

Los Banos sits on the south-western edge of extensive national and state game refuges; these wetlands support waterfowl and other wildlife habitat along a stretch of the San Joaquin River that still carries water and the Grassland 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 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 come to Los Banos year round.

Education 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.

Economy: Top employers According to a recent Financial Report, the top employers in the city include: 1 Los Banos Unified School District; 2 Walmart; 3 Memorial Hospital Los Banos; 4 Kagome; 5 City of Los Banos; 6 Target; 7 APEX; 8 The Home Depot; 9 Save Mart; 10 Central California Irrigation District.