Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Gonzales, CA

Gonzales was founded by Dr. Mariano Gonzalez and his brother Alfredo Gonzalez on land that was originally Rancho Rincon de la Puente del Monte, a rancho granted to their father, Teodoro Gonzalez, in 1836 while he was serving as alcalde of Monterey.

Gonzales was incorporated as a city on January 14, 1947, making it one of the later-incorporated farm towns of the Salinas Valley.

Gonzales is a city in Monterey County located in the Salinas Valley, about 16 miles southeast of Salinas at an elevation of 135 feet.

Gonzales had a population of 8,647 at the 2020 census, up from 8,187 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Gonzales has only about 2,280 households for its 8,647 residents - an average of 3.72 people per household, reflecting the large farmworker families who power the local agriculture.

Gonzales sits in the middle of the Salinas Valley, the region John Steinbeck made famous and that is known as America's Salad Bowl for the lettuce and vegetables it ships across the country.

The benchlands rising west of Gonzales along River Road belong to the Santa Lucia Highlands wine appellation, famed for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grown in cool Monterey Bay air.

Afternoon winds funneling in from Monterey Bay are so dependable in the Gonzales area that Santa Lucia Highlands growers say the wind arrives like clockwork around 2 p.m. and can blow at 25 miles per hour, naturally cooling the vineyards.

Gonzales grew from just 233 residents in 1880 and 1,821 in 1950 into a city of more than 8,600, tracking the rise of irrigated vegetable farming in the Salinas Valley.

U.S. Route 101 runs through the northeastern side of Gonzales with three exits serving the city, tying this farm town directly to Salinas and the rest of the Central Coast.