Half Moon Bay

The city of Half Moon Bay is the oldest settlement in San Mateo County, founded in the 1840s. It is located within a total area of 6.5 square miles on a large bay of the same name. Its major local industries are fishing, agriculture (including ornamental plants and flowers, Christmas trees, pumpkins, brussel sprouts, and artichokes), and tourism.

The city hosts the "Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival" each October featuring food, arts and crafts, and a "giant pumpkin contest". Just north of the city is the big wave break known as Maverick's, where pro surfers gather annually for a popular surf contest that draws large crowds and media coverage.

The community now known as Half Moon Bay originally developed in the 1840s as the first settlement in the county of San Mateo. Originally known as San Benito, the town was later renamed Spanishtown and began to attract a booming fishing industry to add to its significant contribution to coastal agriculture. Spanishtown was a racially diverse community, and boasted a population that included Portuguese, Mexicans, Germans, Irish, Italians, Canadians, Chinese, English, Scots, and Pacific Islanders. A regular stagecoach service linked Half Moon Bay with the city of San Mateo, with coaches also serving the communities of Purissima, Lobitos, and San Gregorio (of which only San Gregorio remains today). Spanishtown was officially renamed as Half Moon Bay in 1874, and finally incorporated in 1959.

• Half Moon Bay Golf Links

• Ritz-Carlton at Half Moon Bay

• Fitzgerald Marine Reserve

• Maverick's

• Robert Scoble

• Tracy Chapman