San Simeon, California
| San Simeon | |
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| census-designated place | |
View of Hearst Castle, a prominent landmark in San Simeon
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 San Simeon
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| Coordinates: 35°38′38″N 121°11′23″W / 35.64389°N 121.18972°WCoordinates: 35°38′38″N 121°11′23″W / 35.64389°N 121.18972°W | |
| Country |
 United States
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| State |
 California
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| County | San Luis Obispo |
| Area | |
| • Total | 0.797 sq mi (2.063 km2) |
| • Land | 0.797 sq mi (2.063 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) 0% |
| Elevation | 230 ft (70 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 462 |
| • Density | 580/sq mi (220/km2) |
| Time zone | Pacific (PST) (UTC-8) |
| • Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC-7) |
| ZIP codes | 93452 |
| Area code(s) | 805 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2583127 |
| U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: San Simeon, California | |
San Simeon (ZIP Code: 93452; area code 805) is a town and census-designated place on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California. Its position along State Route 1 is approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, each of those cities being roughly 230 miles (370 km) away. A key feature of the area is Hearst Castle, a hilltop mansion built by William Randolph Hearst in the early 20th century that is now a tourist attraction. The area is also home to a large northern elephant seal rookery, known as the Piedras Blancas rookery. It is located seven miles north of San Simeon on Highway 1.
Prehistorically the local area was inhabited by the Chumash people, who settled the coastal San Luis Obispo area approximately 10,000 to 11,000 BC, including a large village south of San Simeon at Morro Creek.
The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolà expedition, traveled northwest along the coast in September, 1769. On September 11–12, the party passed the future location of San Simeon. At Ragged Point, about 15 miles past San Simeon, the party turned inland across the Santa Lucia Range.
San Simeon was founded as an asistencia ("sub-mission") to Mission San Miguel Arcángel, founded in 1797 and located to the east across the Santa Lucia Range. San Simeon was named for Rancho San Simeon, although the town-site is actually north of that rancho, on the former Rancho Piedra Blanca, a Mexican land grant given in 1840 to José de Jesús Pico. In 1865, Pico sold part of the rancho to George Hearst, the father of William Randolph Hearst.
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