Bee Rock, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Bee Rock, California
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Bee Rock School in 1898
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 Bee Rock, California
Location in California
Bee Rock, California
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | San Luis Obispo |
| Elevation | 938 ft (286 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| Area code(s) | 805 |
| GNIS feature ID | 252851 |
Bee Rock is a small, rural community in northern San Luis Obispo County, California. It's not a city or town with its own government, but a group of homes and farms. It's located between two large lakes, Lake Nacimiento and Lake San Antonio, in the beautiful Santa Lucia Range. Bee Rock got its name because of a giant natural beehive found in a granite boulder long ago!
History of Bee Rock
Bee Rock has a rich history, with families settling there many years ago. One of the first families to make their home here was the Langenbecks, who arrived in 1862. They were German cobblers and built a ranch. Elizabeth Langenbeck and her husband raised nine children in Bee Rock.
Another important family, the Allens, also settled in Bee Rock in 1881. It's believed that Jim Hardy Allen was the one who named the area "Bee Rock." The old Allen family ranch later became the Bee Rock Lodge.
Bee Rock School and Community
Jim Hardy Allen helped start the first Bee Rock School in the early 1880s. He organized events to raise money for it, and a local rancher named Ernest KoneKamp donated land. The school building was very important to the community. It wasn't just for learning; it also served as a community hall where people held dances and other events. Sometimes, it even became a church when a clergyman visited.
A small library branch opened in Bee Rock in 1929, showing how much the community valued education. The original community hall, known as Bee Rock Hall, operated for 26 years before it sadly burned down in 1930.
The first Bee Rock School was eventually abandoned by 1951. However, a new Bee Rock School was built in 1972 to continue serving the children of the community. In the 1970s, there was also a Bee Rock Store still open.
The Famous Bee Rock
In the late 1800s, Bee Rock became famous for having what people called the "largest bee-hive in the world." This giant beehive was inside a granite boulder near the Arroyo Alcalde. The boulder had many cracks and was filled with a huge number of bees. It produced hundreds of pounds of honey every year!
The Bee Rock Fault zone, a natural crack in the Earth's crust, also passes through the Bee Rock community.
