Hollister is the county seat of which California county?

Hollister is the county seat of San Benito County, California.

The city is located in the Central Coast region of California and is both San Benito County’s seat of government and its largest city. County government offices and related civic services are based in Hollister, making it the administrative center of the county.

San Benito County was created by the California Legislature in 1874 from territory that had previously belonged mainly to Monterey County, with portions associated with Merced and Santa Cruz counties also involved in the county’s later development. Hollister had already been founded in 1868 on the former Rancho San Justo.

The county’s name comes from the San Benito River, which was named by the Spanish explorer-priest Juan Crespí in honor of San Benito de Nursia, or Saint Benedict. A frequent mistake is choosing Monterey County because Hollister was originally located within Monterey County before San Benito County existed.