The Children of Arthur Benbow purchased 1,288 acres from Ernest Linser and also some land from John Kamper, Jack Bowden and a Mr. Peirce in 1922. It soon became apparent that ranching would not be sufficient to meet their needs so the family decided to construct the resort hotel that still stands today. The children were Joseph, Evangeline, Burtis, Clara, Helen, Jessie, Loleta, Walter and Robert. Eight of these children were born in Humboldt County. In the early years the Inn was known as the "Hotel Benbow." It opened on July 17, 1926. The electricity for the hotel came from two diesel generators until a dam and powerhouse was completed on the south fork of the Eel River. The post office was established on December 30, 1929 and operated at Benbow from until it was merged with Garberville on January 31, 1953. The Tudorbethan style inn is still in operation as the premier hotel property on US Route 101 between Humboldt Bay and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Demographics
The 2010 United States Census reported that Benbow had a population of 321. The population density was 65.8 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Benbow was 294 White, 0 African American, 2 Native American, 1 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 13 from other races, and 11 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25 persons. The Census reported that 319 people lived in households, 2 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 were institutionalized. There were 150 households, out of which 39 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 60 were opposite-sex married couplesliving together, 17 had a female householder with no husband present, 9 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 16 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 51 households were made up of individuals and 13 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13. There were 86 families ; the average family size was 2.55. The population was spread out with 59 people under the age of 18, 19 people aged 18 to 24, 79 people aged 25 to 44, 108 people aged 45 to 64, and 56 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.1 males. There were 178 housing units at an average density of 36.5 per square mile, of which 150 were occupied, of which 119 were owner-occupied, and 31 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.4%; the rental vacancy rate was 0%. 257 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 62 people lived in rental housing units.
