Soledad, CA

Soledad developed in the Salinas Valley after Catalina Munras donated land in 1873 for a church, school, cemetery, and Southern Pacific railroad plot. The rail connection made the settlement the line’s terminus for 13 years and a shipping point for southern Monterey County grain and livestock. Soledad’s population declined from 25,738 in 2010 to 24,925 in 2020. Mission Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, founded in 1791, predates the city; Chalon people lived east of the mission near what is now western Pinnacles National Park. The park’s west entrance is reached from Soledad via 14 miles of Highway 146.