Templeton
Templeton is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 8,368 at the 2020 census, up from 7,674 at the 2010 census.
Geography and climate
Geography
Templeton is located at 35°33′14″N 120°42′34″W (35.553847, −120.709469).[4] It is approximately five miles (8 km) south of Paso Robles and five miles north of Atascadero along U.S. 101. State Route 46 intersects U.S. 101 on the north edge of the town.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20 km2), all of which is land.[1] However, much of the surrounding unincorporated area between Atascadero and Paso Robles is considered as part of Templeton, with most U.S. mail for this area addressed as such.
Climate
Templeton has a Mediterranean climate that is characterized by mild winters and dry summers. The area usually has low humidity. Rain generally falls only between November and March, with the rainy season tapering off almost completely by the end of April. Temperature lows can reach from 20 to 25 °F (−7 to −4 °C) in the winter, and highs can reach 100 °F (38 °C) in the summer, with the highest recorded temperature being 115 °F (46 °C).
Like much of the nearby area, Templeton occasionally receives significant but temporary fog through parts of the year. In summer, Templeton will occasionally receive fog due to its proximity with the California Coastal Range, Pacific Ocean, and the higher valley temperatures of Templeton itself; the differential in density between the warm rising air in the valley causes it to be displaced with the descent of the cooler marine air layer via the Templeton Gap in the Santa Lucia Range. Similarly, in winter, Templeton will occasionally receive morning fog due to the temperature differential with the Central Valley.
Although it is rare to see snow in Templeton, it did snow on December 15, 1988, leaving between 5 and 8 inches (13 and 20 cm) of total snowfall.[5] It also most recently snowed in the winter of 2023.
History
Templeton is located within the former Rancho Paso de Robles Mexican land grant and was founded in 1886 when Chauncey Hatch Phillips of the West Coast Land Company sent R.R. Harris to survey 160 acres (0.65 km2) set aside for a town to exist south of Paso Robles as part of the company’s larger purchase of 63,000 acres (250 km2). These 160 acres were to be laid out in business and residential lots with 5–12 acre parcels, with the town to be named “Crocker” after a Vice President of the Southern Pacific Railroad, Charles F. Crocker; however, Crocker instead chose to name the town “Templeton,” after his two-year-old son, Charles Templeton Crocker.
The town was briefly the end of the line for passengers travelling south via the Southern Pacific Railroad from northern California; passengers disembarked at Templeton and were then carried by stagecoach south to San Luis Obispo. In 1889, the railroad was continued 14 miles (23 km) south to Santa Margarita and the town was reclassified to a flag stop. Currently, the railroad stops in nearby Paso Robles before continuing on, and Templeton is classified as a bypass.
In 1898, a fire destroyed most of the original wooden buildings of the business district along Main Street, prompting this section of the town to be rebuilt with brick, although on a somewhat smaller scale than before
