Correctional Training Facility

Salinas Valley State Prison (SVSP) is a 300-acre (120 ha) California state prison located 5 miles (8 km) north of Soledad, in Monterey County, California, adjacent to the Correctional Training Facility (aka Soledad State Prison).

Camphora (formerly, Camp Four) is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located on U.S. Route 101 and the Southern Pacific Railroad line, 3 miles (4.8 km) northwest of Soledad, at an elevation of 171 feet (52 m).Camphora began in 1873 as a railroad construction camp called Camp Four. Mexican workers pronounced the place as "camphora" and the railroad used this as the official name of the town.

Rancho San Vicente was a 19,979-acre (80.85 km2) Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California.The four square league grant consisted of two square leagues in 1835 by Governor José Castro to Esteban Munrás, and two square leagues granted in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado. The grant extended along the east bank of the Salinas River and encompassed present day Soledad.

Monterey County wine is a appellation that designates wine made from grapes grown in Monterey County, California which lies entirely within the expansive multi-county Central Coast viticultural area. County names in the United States automatically qualify as legal appellations of origin for wine produced from grapes grown in that county and do not require registration with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). TTB was created in January 2003, when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, or ATF, was extensively reorganized under the provisions of the Homeland Security Act of 2002.Monterey County is renowned internationally for its scenic splendor with the California Coast Ranges forming the mountainous shoreline and wind-swept evergreens on coastal cliffs outlined by the cinematic Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) along Big Sur, the white-sanded beaches in Carmel, the quiet tide pools at Pebble Beach and fertile soils of the Salinas Valley caressed by the maritime California weather. These elements provide ideal terrain, climate, and soil creating unique microclimates throughout the county for a vibrant viticulture economy. This historic region is one of the popular bastions of cool-climate viticulture because of its proximity to the Pacific coast. The majority of Monterey's cultivated 69,000 acres (27,923 ha) resides in the 80 miles (129 km) elongated, fertile Salinas Valley framed by the central inner Coastal Range, continuously defined on a southeast to northwest axis by the Santa Lucia Range to the west and the Gabilan Range along its eastern boundary. As of 2024, the county is resident to ten established American Viticultural Areas (AVA), each with distinct viticultural personalities. They are Chalone, Arroyo Seco, San Lucas, Santa Lucia Highlands, San Bernabe, Hames Valley, Carmel Valley, San Antonio Valley, Gabilan Mountains and the large Monterey viticultural areas.

Santa Lucia Highlands is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in central Monterey County, California and lies within the boundaries of the larger, elongated Monterey viticultural area. It was recognized by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms {ATF}, Treasury on June 15, 1992 after reviewing the petition from Mr. Barry Jackson of the Harmony Wine Company proposing a viticultural area to be known as "Santa Lucia Highlands." The area consists of the eastern flank of the Santa Lucia Mountain Range and is located completely within the boundaries of the established Monterey viticultural area. The general boundaries are: Limekiln Creek to the north; the Salinas River and its associated terraces to the east; the western border of the Arroyo Seco viticultural area in the southeast; and the western border of the Monterey viticultural area to the west. Inititially, the total area of the appellation was approximately 22,000 acres (34 sq mi) with 1,850 acres (749 ha) committed to active viticulture, with plans to cultivate an additional 400 acres (162 ha). Winegrowing in the region dates back to the late 18th Century, when Spanish missionaries planted the first vines. The modern wine industry sprang up in the 1970s. Some of the vineyards lie as high as 1,200 feet (366 m) above sea level, with about half of them planted to the Pinot noir grape. The region enjoys cool morning fog and breezes from Monterey Bay followed by warm afternoons thanks to direct southern exposures to the sun. In 2021, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury ruled on a modification of the shared Santa Lucia Highlands-Arroyo Seco AVA boundary. The modification removed 376 acres (1 sq mi) from the Santa Lucia Highlands viticultural area, and moved 148 acres (0 sq mi) from the Arroyo Seco viticultural area placing it entirely within the Santa Lucia Highlands. The modification reduced the size of the AVA by less than 1 percent and did not have any impact on the boundaries of the Monterey AVA or the Central Coast.

Rancho Ex-Mission Soledad was a 8,900-acre (36 km2) Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California. It was given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Feliciano Soberanes.The grant derives its name from the secularized Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, but was called ex-Mission because of a division made of the lands held in the name of the Mission — the church retaining the grounds immediately around, and all of the lands outside of this are called ex-Mission lands. The grant was adjacent Mission Soledad, west of the Salinas River and Soledad.

}Soledad High School is a public secondary school located in Soledad, California, United States. A part of Soledad Unified School District, it was opened in 1999 and is the largest high school in south Monterey County, serving grades 9 through 12. In 2013, the school had approximately 1,401 students. The Monterey County Free Libraries Soledad Branch is located on the school's north-west part of campus, serving the high school as well as the public. Soledad High School's mascot is the Aztec Warrior. The school is being run by its seventh principal in 15 years.

The Arroyo Seco ("dry wash") is a major tributary of the Salinas River in central California. About 40 miles (64 km) long, it drains a rugged area of the Coast Ranges east of Big Sur before flowing through the agricultural Salinas Valley.

Community Church of Gonzales is a historic Gothic Revival church building at 301 4th Street in Gonzales, California, United States. It was built 1883–1884 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It is one of Monterey County's oldest functioning churches, a prominent Carpenter Gothic church exemplifying a type common to late-19th-century small California towns. It is currently a church of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Rancho Rincon de la Puente del Monte was a 15,219-acre (61.59 km2) Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1836 by Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez to Teodoro Gonzalez. The grant extended along the north bank of the Salinas River, across from Francisco Lugo's Rancho Paraje de Sanchez, and encompassed present day Gonzales

Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Spanish: Misión Nuestra Señora de la Soledad), commonly known as Mission Soledad, is a Spanish mission located in Soledad, California. The mission was founded by the Franciscan order on October 9, 1791, to convert the Native Americans living in the area to Catholicism. It was the thirteenth of California's Spanish missions, and is named for Mary, Our Lady of Solitude. The town of Soledad is named for the mission. After the 1835 secularization of the mission and the later sale of building materials, the mission fell into a state of disrepair and soon after was left in ruins. A restoration project began in 1954 and a new chapel was dedicated in 1955. The chapel now functions as a chapel of Our Lady of Solitude, a parish church of the Diocese of Monterey. The priests' residence was later recreated, and functions as a museum.

The Gabilan Lodge No. 372-Independent Order of Odd Fellows, also known as Odd Fellows Lodge, is a building built in 1914 in Gonzales, California, United States. It was designed in Classical Revival style and served historically as a clubhouse. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It currently serves as chambers for the Gonzalez City Council.