Spreckels, California facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Spreckels, California
Census-designated place
Spreckels in 2018
Location in Monterey County and the state of California
Spreckels, California Location in the United States
Country	United States
State	California
County	Monterey
Area
• Total	0.122 sq mi (0.316 km2)
• Land	0.122 sq mi (0.316 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)  0%
Elevation	62 ft (19 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	692
• Density	5,672/sq mi (2,190/km2)
Time zone	UTC−8 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	93962
Area code(s)	831
FIPS code	06-73612
GNIS feature ID	1659842

Spreckels is a small community in Monterey County, California. It's located about 3 miles (5 km) south of a city called Salinas. In 2020, about 692 people lived there.

Spreckels is famous for being one of the best-preserved "company towns" in the United States. A company town is a place built by a company to house its workers. Spreckels was created for the workers of the Spreckels Sugar Company. This company was named after its founder, Claus Spreckels, who was known as the "Sugar King."

The Spreckels sugar plant opened in 1899. It was the largest sugar beet factory in the world at that time! It processed huge amounts of sugar beets every day. The plant operated until 1982.

The town of Spreckels is also connected to the famous writer John Steinbeck. He lived and worked there for a while. He even used Spreckels as a setting in his book Tortilla Flat. The town was also used as a filming location for the 1955 movie East of Eden, which was based on another of Steinbeck's books.

History of Spreckels

The Spreckels post office first opened in 1898. The town was named to honor Claus Spreckels. He was the person who built the big sugar mill in that area.

Where is Spreckels?

Spreckels is located in the northern part of Monterey County. It's on the north side of the Salinas River. The town is about 3 miles (5 km) south of Salinas, which is the main city in the county.

The United States Census Bureau says that Spreckels covers a total area of about 0.1 square miles (0.3 square kilometers). All of this area is land.

Spreckels' Climate

Spreckels has a climate known as a "warm-summer Mediterranean climate." This means that the summers are usually warm and dry. The average monthly temperatures during summer don't go above 71.6°F (22°C).

Local Businesses

Spreckels is home to two important farming companies. These are Tanimura & Antle and D'Arrigo Brothers. They are major employers in the area.

People of Spreckels

Population in 2010

In 2010, Spreckels had a population of 673 people. Most of the people lived in family homes.

The population included people from different backgrounds:

• About 71.8% were White.
• About 1.9% were Native American.
• About 3.9% were Asian.
• About 19.3% were from other races.
• About 3.1% were from two or more races.
• About 28.7% of the people were Hispanic or Latino.

There were 229 households in Spreckels. About 38.9% of these households had children under 18 years old living there. The average household had about 2.94 people.

The ages of the people in 2010 were:

• About 25.6% were under 18 years old.
• About 6.5% were between 18 and 24 years old.
• About 25.7% were between 25 and 44 years old.
• About 30.9% were between 45 and 64 years old.
• About 11.3% were 65 years or older.

The average age in Spreckels was 39.4 years.

Most homes were owned by the people living in them (about 69.9%). The rest were rented (about 30.1%).

Population in 2000

In 2000, the population of Spreckels was 485 people. There were 171 households in the community.

The racial makeup of the community in 2000 was:

• About 86.39% White.
• About 0.62% African American.
• About 1.65% Native American.
• About 2.68% Asian.
• About 6.80% from other races.
• About 1.86% from two or more races.
• About 27.63% of the people were Hispanic or Latino.

The average household size was 2.84 people. The average family size was 3.20 people.

The median income for a household was $58,009. The median income for a family was $51,250.

See also

In Spanish: Spreckels para niños