Spreckels Sugar Company

Spreckels is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the Salinas Valley of Monterey County, California, United States. Spreckels is located 3 miles (5 km) south of Salinas, at an elevation of 62 ft (19 m). Its population was 692 at the 2020 census.Spreckels is one of the best-preserved company towns in the United States. It was built to house workers for the Spreckels Sugar Company plant, which operated there from 1899 until 1982, named after its founder "Sugar King" Claus Spreckels. When it opened, the Spreckels plant was the world's largest sugar beet factory, each day consuming 13,000,000 US gal (49,000,000 L) of water—with much of it pumped from wells—to process 3,000 short tons (2,700 t) of beets. Spreckels is associated with the writer John Steinbeck, who lived and worked there for a time, and used it as a setting in his novel Tortilla Flat. Spreckels was used as a location for the 1955 Steinbeck movie East of Eden.

Rancho Buena Vista was a 8,446-acre (34.18 km2) Spanish land concession in the Salinas Valley, in present day Monterey County, California given in 1795 to Jose Maria Soberanes and Joaquin Castro. The grant was just south of Spreckels.

Old Hilltown, formerly Hill Town, is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located on the north side of the Salinas River 3 miles (4.8 km) south-southwest of Salinas on California State Route 68, at an elevation of 46 feet (14 m), approximately two miles from Spreckels, California The name is from James Bryant Hill, one of the first settler in the area. The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolá expedition, camped on the Salinas River in this vicinity on September 30, 1769, having followed the river from the south for several days. From this camp, the scouts went out to survey the route ahead and saw Monterey Bay for the first time. Unsure whether the point they could see at the southern end of the bay was the "Point of Pines" described by Sebastian Vizcaino in 1602, Portola decided that the party should investigate.Hill Town was established at a ford of the Salinas River called Paso del Quinto. Hill Town was the site of one of the first ferries on the Salinas River. The ferry operated until 1889 when a bridge was built across the river. The site is now registered as California Historical Landmark #560.

Springtown (formerly, Confederate Corners) is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States.

Rancho Nacional was a 6,633-acre (26.84 km2) Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present day Monterey County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Vicente Cantua. The grant was between the Salinas River and present day Salinas.

Rancho Llano de Buena Vista was a 8,446-acre (34.18 km2) Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California, given in 1823 by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello to José Mariano Estrada. In English, the name means "Good View Plain". The grant extended along the north bank of the Salinas River across the river from the Estrada family's Rancho Buena Vista, and up the river from Hill Town. Rancho Llano de Buena Vista encompassed present-day Spreckels.

The Salinas Valley Health Medical Center is a public district medical center in Salinas, California. Originally built in 1953, Salinas Valley Health Medical Center has 263 medical center beds and 1,800+ employees and primarily serves residents of the Salinas Valley. The medical center has partnered with local organizations such as NASA.

Salinas High School is a public 9–12 high school in Salinas, California, United States. It is the first of five primary high schools of the Salinas Union High School District. The school was moved to its current central Salinas location in 1920. The campus was rebuilt circa 1999. While most buildings were demolished and replaced, the original main wing and bell tower were retained and renovated. The current principal is Elizabeth Duethman, with assistants Hugo Mariscal, Ernesto Pacleb, Vivian Moises, and Anthony Morales. As of the 2019–2020 school year the school enrolled 2700 students. Its campus is situated in a rural and suburban setting. The Salinas Cowboys compete in the Pacific Coast Athletic League of the CIF Central Coast Section. The school colors are purple and gold. During the August 2021 football jamboree, students made an instagram account "shaniqua.shs" that posted pictures and videos of a defaced black baby doll. Posts showed white and latino students posing with it and stomping on the doll, with comments using the n-word. The actions were called racist and disturbing by Monterey Weekly. As a result, three students were suspended and one student removed from the cheer team.

Palma School is a grade 6-12 Catholic school located in Salinas, California, United States. Located in the Diocese of Monterey, its motto is "Palma Merenti," which translates in English as "Palms to the Victor."

Notre Dame High School is a private, all-female, Catholic high school in Salinas, California. It is located in the Diocese of Monterey.