Half Moon Bay

History

Half Moon Bay began as a rural agricultural area, primarily used by Mission San Francisco de Asís (established in 1776) for grazing cattle, horses, and oxen. After the Mission's secularization, Tiburcio Vásquez received the Rancho Corral de Tierra Mexican land grant in 1839 and Candelario Miramontes was granted Rancho Miramontes (later known as Rancho San Benito) in 1841. The community began to develop in the 1840s as San Mateo County's first real town. Originally, San Benito, the town was renamed Spanishtown and attracted a thriving fishing industry in addition to its continued importance to coastal agriculture. Spanishtown became a racially diverse community, settled by Canadians, Chinese, English, Germans, Irish, Mexicans, Italians, Scots, Portuguese, and Pacific Islanders. Regular stagecoach service was established with San Mateo; coaches also served Purissima, Lobitos, and San Gregorio. Levy Brothers opened a department store downtown. Spanishtown was officially renamed Half Moon Bay in 1874. The area grew very slowly, even after the Ocean Shore Railroad began serving the community in 1907. The construction of Pedro Mountain Road in 1914 provided better access to San Francisco and probably contributed to the railroad's demise by 1920. The USS DeLong ran aground at Half Moon Bay on December 1, 1921. During Prohibition "rum runners" took advantage of dense fog and hidden coves in the area to serve several roadhouses and inns, some of which operate today as restaurants (e.g., Moss Beach Distillery). Real growth in the area came after World War II with the construction of numerous subdivisions, eventually leading to Half Moon Bay's incorporation in 1959. The city preserves a historic downtown district that has buildings dating as far back as 1869. In 2008,…

Geography

Half Moon Bay is approximately south of San Francisco, west of San Mateo, and north of Santa Cruz. Neighboring towns include El Granada, Princeton-by-the-Sea, Moss Beach, and Montara to the north and Purissima, San Gregorio, and Pescadero to the south. The city limits of Half Moon Bay run up the coast from the main part of the town to include the neighborhoods of Frenchman's Creek and Miramar Beach, with the northernmost extant overlooking Pillar Point Harbor. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.17%) is water. The study found at least 123 buildings, including the Ritz Carlton (a major employer for the town), Pigeon Point Lighthouse and the Pescadero Cal Fire Station would be seriously threatened by erosion if sea level were to rise by . Typical of Northern California, most of the rain falls from November to April. The normal annual precipitation is . |date=August 2010 }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  34,443
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  33,520
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  31,655
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  29,066
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  28,439
• Western Gull

  Larus occidentalis Audubon, 1839 · Aves
  26,419
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  25,992
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  24,152

Largest nearby schools

• Carlmont High
  High · Belmont · 2,322 students · 20.4:1 ratio
• Aragon High
  High · San Mateo · 1,740 students · 23.2:1 ratio
• Hillsdale High
  High · San Mateo · 1,629 students · 17.7:1 ratio
• San Mateo High
  High · San Mateo · 1,613 students · 19.2:1 ratio
• Burlingame High
  High · Burlingame · 1,519 students · 21.1:1 ratio
• Mills High
  High · Millbrae · 1,141 students · 21.5:1 ratio
• Ralston Intermediate
  Middle · Belmont · 1,117 students · 21.5:1 ratio
• Half Moon Bay High
  High · Half Moon Bay · 1,024 students · 21.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2026-06-07
  3 km SW of Alamo, CA
• M 2.65 — 2026-06-04
  7 km E of Fremont, CA
• M 2.72 — 2026-05-10
  2 km ESE of Pinole, CA
• M 2.52 — 2026-05-02
  20 km SE of Livermore, CA
• M 2.77 — 2026-04-30
  14 km N of Morgan Hill, CA
• M 2.62 — 2026-04-26
  16 km E of Seven Trees, CA