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History · Benbow

Benbow’s post office opened in 1929, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Benbow was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listing is the Benbow Inn. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1921 on.

1929first post office
1on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Benbow’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Benbow began

When was Benbow founded?

1929

The Benbow post office opened in 1929, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 42297 years
Founding year: the first Benbow post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Benbow’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19214 editions of the USGS map, 1921 to 1970. Watch Benbow change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Benbow’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Benbow’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFrank Patterson 4G8: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Benbow on the map, 1921 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Benbow. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Benbow on the 1921 USGS mapBenbow on the 1949 USGS mapBenbow on the 1951 USGS mapBenbow on the 1970 USGS map1921Briceland sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Benbow.

The story

How Benbow came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Benbow.

Read it all →

The children of Arthur Benbow purchased 1,288 acres (521 ha) from Ernest Linser and also some land from John Kamper, Jack Bowden and a Mr. Peirce in 1922. It soon became apparent that ranching would not be sufficient to meet their needs so the family constructed the Benbow Inn resort hotel. In the early years the Inn was known as the Hotel Benbow and opened on July 17, 1926. The electricity for the hotel came from two diesel generators until a dam and powerhouse was completed on the south fork of the Eel River. The Tudorbethan style inn is still in operation on US Route 101 between Humboldt Bay and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Benbow, 1921 to 1953

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1921On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1929Post officeThe Benbow post office opens
  4. 1930In the archiveFrank Patterson 4G8
  5. 1953Post officeThe Benbow post office closes
By decade

Benbow, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Frank Patterson 4G81930sFrank Patterson 4G8Postcard
1940s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
Benbow California2022Benbow California
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Frank Patterson 4G8
Retake this viewFrank Patterson 4G8, 1930s

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Benbow’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Benbow

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Benbow Inn
Benbow Inn
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

English Tudor1
Benbow InnEnglish Tudor

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Benbow

Nobody well known was born in Benbow itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Michelle LambertAmerican singer-songwriter and violinist · b. 1985
S
Steven W. MosherAmerican social scientist · b. 1948
Randy NiemannAmerican baseball player and coach · b. 1955
B
Bob BowmanAmerican baseball player, outfielder · b. 1930
T
Tommie GinnAmerican football player · b. 1958
M
Mike BettigaAmerican football wide receiver · b. 1950
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Benbow had its own post office from 1929 to 1953.

Benbow
1929–1953
19201970today
Gone or out of use
Benbow Post Officepost office

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Benbow’s history

What year was Benbow founded?

The Benbow post office opened in 1929, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Benbow?

One place: the Benbow Inn (listed 1983).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.