Kings Mountain, California
Encyclopedia
Kings Mountain is an unincorporated community in San Mateo County, California
, located along State Route 35 (Skyline Boulevard)
between Skeggs Point
and Pise Mountain. This is about seven miles (11 km) north of Woodside Road (SR84)
. In the U.S. Geological Survey, National Geographic Names Database, the area is identified only as a geographic feature of type "summit" and not as a populated place. The community is inside area code 650
and uses the Woodside ZIP Code 94062.
; Billionaire investor, Forbes
columnist, and local historian Kenneth Fisher
; and Rock ‘n Roll legend, Neil Young
.
On the Woodside, California
7.5-minute quadrangle, (1997), features supporting the name include Kings Mountain Road and Kings Mountain School. The school, a K-5 institution, is operated by Cabrillo School District of Half Moon Bay
and was the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Schools award from the State of California. The latitude and longitude for the school are listed in the National Geographic Names Database as 37°25′14"N 122°19′24"W. Variant names for the school include Kings Mountain Primary (U.S. Department of Education) and Kings Mountain Elementary School (local fundraising documents).
County government documents also identify a Kings Mountain Fire Station and Community Center at 13899 Skyline Boulevard. This is between Kings Mountain Road and Pise Mountain. Today the Kings Mountain Volunteer Fire Department responds to over 160 calls a year, many of them to assist weekend bicyclists and hikers who are enjoying the redwood forest.
does not maintain a station in the area (there are cooperative stations in Ben Lomond, California
and Woodside, California
), but normal annual rainfall has been estimated to exceed 50 inches (1,270 mm). Heavy fog is very common in the area, especially in the summer months, and usually clears back to the coast from the late morning to early evening. Normal temperatures in January range from the lower fifties to upper thirties, and in July from upper seventies to lower fifties.
members from San Francisco. More recently, however, with the building of interstate highway 280 making San Francisco only a 40 minute commute, and a booming Silicon Valley economy, Kings Mountain has become a full-time residential community, with million dollar homes now outnumbering rustic cabins.
San Mateo County, California
San Mateo County is a county located in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula just south of San Francisco, and north of Santa Clara County. San Francisco International Airport is located at the northern end of the county, and...
, located along State Route 35 (Skyline Boulevard)
California State Route 35
State Route 35 in the U.S. state of California, generally known as Skyline Boulevard, is a two-lane road running along the western ridge of Silicon Valley in California. It runs from Highway 17 to San Francisco at State Route 1. It provides scenic views of both the Santa Cruz Mountains, the...
between Skeggs Point
Skeggs Point, California
Skeggs Point is a scenic turnout in San Mateo County along State Route 35 between Kings Mountain and State Route 84. The feature is marked with a guide sign along the road and is listed on the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle, "Woodside, California" as well as in the National Geographic Names Database...
and Pise Mountain. This is about seven miles (11 km) north of Woodside Road (SR84)
California State Route 84
State Route 84 is a split-section California State Highway consisting of two sections. The first section is an east–west arterial road running from San Gregorio to Menlo Park, across the Dumbarton Bridge through Fremont and Newark and ending at I-580 in Livermore. The route overlaps the...
. In the U.S. Geological Survey, National Geographic Names Database, the area is identified only as a geographic feature of type "summit" and not as a populated place. The community is inside area code 650
Area code 650
North American area code 650 is a California telephone area code which includes most of San Mateo County and the extreme northwestern portion of Santa Clara County including Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Los Altos....
and uses the Woodside ZIP Code 94062.
Profile
The community derived its name from a former 19th century landmark hotel, the "Kings Mountain Browhouse", run by the Frank King family. Long-time nationally prominent residents include: Birth control pill inventor and novelist, Carl DjerassiCarl Djerassi
Carl Djerassi is an Austrian-American chemist, novelist, and playwright best known for his contribution to the development of the first oral contraceptive pill . Djerassi is emeritus professor of chemistry at Stanford University.He participated in the invention in 1951, together with Mexican Luis E...
; Billionaire investor, Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
columnist, and local historian Kenneth Fisher
Kenneth Fisher
Kenneth Lawrence Fisher is a widely published American investment analyst, and the founder, chairman, and CEO of Fisher Investments, a money management firm headquartered in Woodside, California...
; and Rock ‘n Roll legend, Neil Young
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...
.
On the Woodside, California
Woodside, California
Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It uses a council-manager system of government. The U.S. Census estimated the population of the town to be 5,287 in 2010....
7.5-minute quadrangle, (1997), features supporting the name include Kings Mountain Road and Kings Mountain School. The school, a K-5 institution, is operated by Cabrillo School District of Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay, California
Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, USA. Its population was 11,324 as of the 2010 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is the Pillar Point Harbor and the unincorporated community of Princeton-by-the-Sea....
and was the recipient of the 2008 Distinguished Schools award from the State of California. The latitude and longitude for the school are listed in the National Geographic Names Database as 37°25′14"N 122°19′24"W. Variant names for the school include Kings Mountain Primary (U.S. Department of Education) and Kings Mountain Elementary School (local fundraising documents).
County government documents also identify a Kings Mountain Fire Station and Community Center at 13899 Skyline Boulevard. This is between Kings Mountain Road and Pise Mountain. Today the Kings Mountain Volunteer Fire Department responds to over 160 calls a year, many of them to assist weekend bicyclists and hikers who are enjoying the redwood forest.
High Point
The area includes the highest point entirely in San Mateo County, Sierra Morena, which is 2417 feet (736.7 m) above sea level, according to the U.S. Geological Survey maps. It is near Skeggs Point (elevation 2,315 feet), the vista point and parking lot along Skyline Boulevard. Due to the presence of communication antennas and microwave equipment, the gravel road leading to Sierra Morena is behind a chain link fence and closed to the public.Climate
Much of the area experiences heavy wet snows every several years; on rare occasions snowfall has exceeded a foot in depth. The National Weather ServiceNational Weather Service
The National Weather Service , once known as the Weather Bureau, is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States government...
does not maintain a station in the area (there are cooperative stations in Ben Lomond, California
Ben Lomond, California
Ben Lomond is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California, United States, and also the name of the mountain to the west. The population was 6,234 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and Woodside, California
Woodside, California
Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It uses a council-manager system of government. The U.S. Census estimated the population of the town to be 5,287 in 2010....
), but normal annual rainfall has been estimated to exceed 50 inches (1,270 mm). Heavy fog is very common in the area, especially in the summer months, and usually clears back to the coast from the late morning to early evening. Normal temperatures in January range from the lower fifties to upper thirties, and in July from upper seventies to lower fifties.
Kings Mountain Art Fair
An annual fine arts fair is held on Labor Day weekend, primarily to support the operations of the Kings Mountain Volunteer Fire Brigade. The Fair also benefits Kings Mountain Elementary School, a California "Distinguished School," and several other community organizations. A pancake breakfast, lunch, food and drinks are served at the Fair, also to fund the fire department and the school. There are free shuttles up and down Skyline Blvd. to ease the parking problems. The first Kings Mountain Art Fair was held in 1963, and the Fair is organized and run entirely by volunteers from the Kings Mountain community.Government Land
The community is encircled by government reservations. The San Francisco Peninsula Watershed, owned by the City and County of San Francisco, is north. East of the community is Huddart County Park and the adjoining Phleger Estate operated by the County of San Mateo. To the south and west is Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve.History
During the late 19th century, an extensive timber and saw-milling industry felled thousands of acres of virgin redwoods. The remaining and substantial redwood forests are nearly all second-growth trees. Until the 1950s, a majority of Kings Mountain's inhabitants were summer residents, including residents of Henrik Ibsen Park, a private 40 acres (161,874.4 m²) recreational facility for Sons of NorwaySons of Norway
Sons of Norway is a fraternal organization representing people of Norwegian heritage in the United States and Canada. It describes its mission as "to promote and to preserve the heritage and culture of Norway, to celebrate our relationship with other Nordic Countries, and provide quality...
members from San Francisco. More recently, however, with the building of interstate highway 280 making San Francisco only a 40 minute commute, and a booming Silicon Valley economy, Kings Mountain has become a full-time residential community, with million dollar homes now outnumbering rustic cabins.
Sources
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Geographic Names Database.
- Woodside, California 7.5-minute quadrangle, U.S. Geological Survey, 1997.
- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics.
See also
- Sky Londa, CaliforniaSky Londa, CaliforniaSky Londa is an unincorporated mountain community in San Mateo County, California located at the intersection of State Route 84 and State Route 35...
also known as Skylonda. - Skyline Boulevard
- Santa Cruz MountainsSanta Cruz MountainsThe Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south,...
- State Route 35California State Route 35State Route 35 in the U.S. state of California, generally known as Skyline Boulevard, is a two-lane road running along the western ridge of Silicon Valley in California. It runs from Highway 17 to San Francisco at State Route 1. It provides scenic views of both the Santa Cruz Mountains, the...
- Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve