Mount Hermon

History

In 1841, California's first water-powered sawmill was built at the junction of Bean Creek and Zayante Creek by Peter Lassen, Isaac Graham, J. Majors, and F. Hoeger. Mount Hermon, known as "Tuxedo Junction" prior to 1906, was a stop on the South Coast Pacific Railroad from Alameda to Santa Cruz. Hotel Tuxedo was on the property; the hotel was purchased and renamed the Zayante Inn on April 14, 1906, by a group which later became the Mount Hermon Association, Inc. Five ladies of the group were entrusted with the selection of a new name for the area, and they chose that of the peak in the Holy Land. The land was to be used as a Christian retreat center, whose dedication day, known as "The Great Day", was July 22, 1906; the event was held at the Zayante Inn with 1400 people in attendance. Speaking at the dedication was Dr. Reuben A. Torrey, President of the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. The Zayante Inn and surrounding cottages were destroyed by fire on April 18, 1921. At the site, the Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center, with three separate facilities, operates on much of the original property. There are also several hundred privately owned homes, the Mount Hermon post office, and a bookstore.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  43,593
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  42,328
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  39,276
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  36,477
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  35,853
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  34,833
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  32,654
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  31,321

Most recent

• M 2.54 — 2026-10-15
  10 km ESE of Gilroy, CA
• M 2.6 — 2026-09-27
  26 km WSW of Westley, CA
• M 3.32 — 2026-09-27
  27 km WSW of Westley, CA
• M 2.56 — 2026-09-23
  2 km NW of Hollister, CA
• M 2.51 — 2026-09-19
  10 km ENE of Milpitas, CA
• M 2.53 — 2026-09-17
  2 km ENE of Aromas, CA