Swanton, California

The US Geological Survey designates Swanton as a populated place located at latitude and longitude 37°03′51″N 122°13′35″W / 37.06417°N 122.22639°W / 37.06417; -122.22639 with an elevation of 135 ft (41 m).

Swanton is home to Swanton Pacific Railroad, a one-third-scale small-gauge railroad that runs on 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of track through the Scott Creek valley using locomotives and cars from the San Francisco Panama Pacific Exposition of 1915.

Ranched with dairy cattle since the California Gold Rush, the area was first known as Laurel Grove, and was later renamed after Fred Swanton, builder of a hydroelectric power plant on nearby Big Creek.

The community was the northern terminus of the southern branch of the Ocean Shore Railroad until it closed in 1922.

In 2009, Swanton was heavily impacted by the Lockheed Fire that burned for two weeks and consumed nearly 8,000 acres (32 km2), forcing the evacuation of hundreds of residents.