Benton, California

Benton is one of the oldest existing towns in Mono County. Benton was founded by the western Indians who came to make use of its hot springs. As the nearby towns of Bodie and Aurora grew in size and population, Benton soon became a checkpoint for southbound travelers in 1852.^[6]

Gold was discovered in the hills of Benton in 1862, and its population quickly grew. After the initial gold strike, little more was found. Benton's profits were soon primarily from silver. Unlike other mining towns, Benton was able to provide enough for the town to thrive and flourish for approximately 50 years. Although most mining activity occurred between 1862 and 1890, the town never completely collapsed.^[6]

The Carson and Colorado Railroad reached Benton in 1883.^[7]

Benton lies along U.S. Route 6 outside of Bishop, en route to remote areas of Nevada. The terrain is described as high desert at an elevation of 5,377 feet (1,639 m) above sea level.^[8] California State Route 120 has its eastern terminus at US 6 in Benton. It leads southwest 4 miles (6 km) to the Benton Hot Springs part of the CDP, then continues west 41 miles (66 km) to U.S. Route 395 near Lee Vining.

The Nevada state line is about 6 miles (10 km) northeast of Benton. US Route 6 crosses this border, then climbs over 7,150-foot (2,180 m) Montgomery Pass at the northern end of the White Mountains. Benton has excellent views to the east of 13,141-foot (4,005 m) Boundary Peak, Nevada's highest, and 13,441-foot (4,097 m) Montgomery Peak just next to it in California.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 28.5 square miles (74 km²), 99.93% of it land, and 0.07% of it water. It is primarily in the Benton Valley, drained to the south by Spring Canyon Creek, leading to the Hammil Valley and eventually to the Owens Valley. Benton Hot Springs, in the southwest part of the CDP, is in Blind Spring Valley, which drains northeast to Benton proper.^[9]

A weather station was run in the town from 1964 to 2013. However, temperatures were recorded for only three of those years, and the record is thus very sparse. Benton has a cold-semi arid climate that has notably extremely high temperature variations within any given day of the year. Temperatures in a winter day can have a temperature dirunial of about 30F ranging from the mild low 50s in the day to bitterly cold 10s and 20s at night. Summers, on the other hand, have even greater temperature variations within a day has highs are in the low to mid 90s with lows being cool at the low 50s and high 40s. Being in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada, Benton experiences very minimal precipitation that's spread relatively even throughout the year with winters getin 0.5-0.75 more inches of precipitation than summer. Snowfall is also common in the winters, too.

Every September, the White Mountain Fire Protection district hosts the benton music festival as a way to raise funds for the fire department^[11]

The 2010 United States Census^[13] reported that Benton had a population of 280. The population density was 9.8 people per square mile (3.8 people/km²). The racial makeup of Benton was 199 (71.1%) White,0 (0.4%) African American, 37 (21.1%) Native American, 1 (0.4%) Asian, 0 (0.0%) Pacific Islander, 15 (5.4%) from other races, and 5 (1.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 38 persons (13.6%).

The Census reported that 280 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 122 households, out of which 29 (23.8%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 59 (48.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 9 (7.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 7 (5.7%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 14 (11.5%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 40 households (32.8%) were made up of individuals, and 10 (8.2%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30. There were 75 families (61.5% of all households); the average family size was 2.81.

The population was spread out, with 54 people (19.3%) under the age of 18, 10 people (3.6%) aged 18 to 24, 58 people (20.7%) aged 25 to 44, 123 people (43.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 35 people (12.5%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.6 males.

There were 159 housing units at an average density of 5.6 units per square mile (2.2 units/km²), of which 86 (70.5%) were owner-occupied, and 36 (29.5%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 15.6%. 191 people (68.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 89 people (31.8%) lived in rental housing units.

Benton is in the Eastern Sierra Unified School District.^[14] An elementary school, Edna Beaman Elementary, is located in town. There was a high school, which was closed after the 2011–2012 school year.

The hot springs are one of the major attractions in Benton, as well as fine bed and breakfast rooms and overnight soaking tubs. With the abandonment of travelers' services at nearby Montgomery Pass, it offers the only lodging, restaurant and gas station services within a 30-mile (48 km) radius. The Benton Crossing Cafe is owned and operated by Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute Reservation.^[15]

There are several old mines in the surrounding hills that have been a source of interest to tourists, as well as the hiking and mountain biking trails in the area.^[8] Many of the original buildings from the old mine town still exist and are open to exploration, including the cemetery.^[4] Benton is a departure point for hiking to Nevada high point Boundary Peak via a (rough) 2WD road to Queen Mine at 9,200 ft (2,800 m) or a 4WD extension to Kennedy Saddle at 9,900 ft (3,000 m).^[16]