HISTORY ON THE CENTRAL COAST
Over 200 years of rich regional history at your fingertips

By Jamie Relth
November 2008

Construction workers at the new hot springs bath house, south of the El Paso de Robles Hotel building, 1905.  
Photo Courtesy the Paso Robles Pioneer Museum

As we found in our recent feature article “History’s Colorful Characters” (November 2008) the people who once called this place home, and after whom many of our cities and streets are named, were incredibly vivacious, brave, and unique individuals. Learning their stories connects us ever more deeply with the land we too know and love. There are literally hundreds of ways of getting back to our roots and witnessing the impact our colorful ancestors had on our modern day Central Coast; the resources below came in handy during our research and will set you on the right path to discovering a past that will surprise and delight you.

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>> HISTORICAL BOOKS

>> HISTORICAL LANDMARKS BY COUNTY
Monterey
San Luis Obispo
Santa Barbara
Ventura

>> HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, MUSEUMS, AND LIBRARIES BY COUNTY
Monterey
San Luis Obispo
Santa Barbara
Ventura

HISTORICAL BOOKS

Arcadia Publishing (www.arcadiapublishing.com) has collaborated with several local historians to produce local history books full of great old photos capturing the essence of the past in places like Paso Robles, Buellton, Santa Barbara, and more.

Chestnut, Merlyn. The Gaviota Land. Santa Barbara: Fithian Press, 1993.

Conway,J.D. Monterey Presidio, Pueblo, and Port. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

Copeland, Dennis and Jeanne McCombs. A Monterey Album. San Francisco: Arcadia Publishing, 2003.

Dart, Louisiana Clayton. Vignettes of History in San Luis Obispo County. San Luis Obispo: Mission Federal Savings, 1978.

Ditmas, Madge C. According to Madge. Arroyo Grande: South County Historical Society, 1983.

Fink,Augusta. Monterey County. Santa Cruz: Western Tanager Press, 1972.

Krieger, Daniel E. San Luis Obispo County. Northridge, California: Winsor Publications, 1988.

Lewis,Donovan. Pioneers of California. San Francisco: Scotwall Associates, 1993.
MacGillivray, J. Fraser. History of Adelaida California, 1992.

Tompkins, Walker A. Santa Barbara History Makers. Santa Barbara: McNally & Loftin, 1983.

STATE HISTORIC LANDMARKS BY COUNTY

JUMP TO: Monterey || San Luis Obispo || Santa Barbara || Ventura

This list of State Historic Landmarks was compiled from information on www.beachcalifornia.com. Find more information about Points of Historical Interest and the California Register of Historic Places at the California Office of Historic Preservation: http://ohp.parks.ca.gov. Find lists of National Historic Landmarks at http://www.nps.gov/nhl/index.htm.

MONTEREY

NO. 1 CUSTOM HOUSE
Commodore John Drake Sloat raised the American flag over this building on July 7, 1846 to signal the passing of California from Mexican to American rule. Restored through the efforts of the Native Sons of the Golden West with the assistance of the people of California.
Location: Monterey State Historic Park, Custom House Plaza, between Scott and Decatur Streets, Monterey

NO. 105 ROYAL PRESIDIO CHAPEL OF SAN CARLOS BORROMÉO Established as a mission by Father Serra, June 3, 1770, this became the royal Presidio Chapel when the mission was moved to Carmel. The chapel was rebuilt with stone in 1791 and became the parish church in 1835, due to secularization. In a dilapidated condition in 1850, it was reconstructed and altered with money donated by Governor Pacheco in 1858.
Location: 550 Church St. near Figueroa, Monterey

NO. 106 LARKIN HOUSE
The adobe-and-wood Larkin House was built in 1835 by Thomas Oliver Larkin, a Yankee merchant who came to California in April 1832. Since Larkin was the only U.S. consul to California under Mexican rule, his home became the American consulate from 1844 to 1846, and it was also used as military headquarters by Kearny, Mason, and Sherman.
Location: Monterey State Historic Park, SW corner of Jefferson and Calle Principal, Monterey

NO. 126 COLTON HALL
In this building met the convention that drafted the Constitution under which California was admitted to statehood on September 9, 1850. Robert Semple was chairman and William G. March secretary. The 48 delegates met from September 1 to October 15, 1849 on the upper floor, which ran the length of the main building. The stairway leading to the convention hall was in the rear of the building. Rev. Walter Colton, first American alcalde in Monterey, erected this building as a public hall and schoolhouse, he and Robert Semple established California's first American newspaper in Monterey on August 15, 1846.
Location: Civic Center, Pacific St. between Jefferson and Madison, Monterey

NO. 128 LANDING PLACE OF SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO AND FRAY JUNÍPERO SERRA
Having entered the harbor the previous evening with his three small vessels, Sebastian Vizcaino landed here on December 17, 1602. Mass was sung by three Carmelite friars and the country taken in the name of the King of Spain. On the same spot, Fray Junípero Serra landed from the San Antonio on June 3, 1770 to join Captain Gaspar de Portolá and Fray Juan Crespí, who had arrived from San Diego overland a week before, in founding the Mission San Carlos de Borroméo de Monterey and the Presidio of Monterey.
Location: Monterey State Historic Park, SW corner of Artillery and Pacific Streets, Monterey

NO. 135 MISSION SAN CARLOS BORROMÉO DE CARMELO
Mission San Carlos was established by Father Serra on June 3, 1770 at the Presidio of Monterey. Finding this location unsuitable, Serra moved the mission to Carmel Valley. In July 1771, he set to work constructing temporary buildings at the new site, and in December 1771 the mission was moved to its permanent location.
Location: SW corner of Lasuen Dr. and Rio Rd., Carmel

NO. 136 FIRST THEATER IN CALIFORNIA
This building was built about 1844 as a sailor's lodging house by Jack Swan. In 1848 it was commandeered by a group of mustered-out soldiers of Colonel Stevenson's regiment of New Yorkers looking for a place to put on plays and comedies. The theater afterward served as a whaling station, a lookout station having been added to the roof.
Location: Monterey State Historic Park, SW corner of Scott and Pacific Streets, Monterey

NO. 232 MISSION SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA
Mission San Antonio de Padua, established on July 14, 1771, was the third in a series of missions founded in Alta California by Father Junípero Serra. Its picturesque setting in the valley of the San Antonio River within the Santa Lucia Range makes it one of today's most outstanding examples of early mission life.
Location: Take Jolon Rd. 26.5 mi from Hwy 101, to Hunter-Ligget Military Reservation, 23 mi W of King City. Plaque located at Hwy 101 & Jolon Rd. on W. side

NO. 233 MISSION NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LA SOLEDAD
This mission, founded October 9, 1791 by Father Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, ministered to the Indians of the Salinas Valley. Governor José Joaquín de Arrillaga died here July 24, 1814 and was buried in the chapel. Prosperous in its early years, Soledad declined after 1825, but Father Vicente Francisco Sarría stayed on in poverty to serve the Indians until his death in 1835, when the mission was secularized. It was regranted to the Bishop of Monterey in 1859. In ruins after 1874, the chapel was reconstructed and dedicated under the auspices of the Native Daughters of the Golden West, October 1955.
Location: Fort Romie Rd. (Co Rd G-17), 2.5 mi S of Soledad; exist Hwy 101 W on Arroyo Seco Rd., right on Fort Romie Rd., follow signs

NO. 348 HOUSE OF GOVERNOR ALVARADO
A native of Monterey, Alvarado served as Governor of Mexican California from December 20, 1836 to December 20, 1842. During his administration the increasing influx of Americans and the Russian settlement at Fort Ross began to be regarded as serious problems.
Location: 494 – 498 Alvarado St., Monterey
 
NO. 351 VÁSQUEZ HOUSE
This adobe house was occupied by a sister of Tiburcio Vásquez, the colorful Monterey bandit of the 1870s.
Location: 546 Dutra St., Monterey

NO. 352 ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON HOUSE
In this house in 1879 lived Robert Louis Stevenson, essayist, storyteller, and poet whose contribution to literature delighted the world.
Location: 530 Houston St., Monterey

NO. 353 HOUSE OF FOUR WINDS
In the late 1830s, Thomas Oliver Larkin built the House of Four Winds, named for the weather vane in his garden. Tradition says the building was used as an early hall of records.
Location: 540 Calle Principal, Monterey

NO. 354 OLD PACIFIC HOUSE
Originally built as a hotel between 1835 and 1847 by James McKinley, the building was known as the Pacific House in 1850, when it housed a public tavern. In later years law offices, a newspaper, small stores, and a ballroom occupied the premises. In 1880 David Jacks bought the property, and in 1954 Miss Margaret Jacks made a gift of the building to the State of California.
Location: Monterey State Historic Park, Custom House Plaza, Monterey

NO. 387 THE GLASS HOUSE, CASA MATERNA OF THE VALLEJOS
In the 1820s, Don Ignacio Vallejo built the Casa Materna on Bolsa de San Cayetano. Don Ignacio and Dona María Antonio Lugo y Vallejo had 13 children—eight daughters and five sons, one of whom was General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo.
Location: On edge of bluff 1, 000 ft N of intersection of Hillcrest Rd. and Salinas Rd., 2.5 mi SE of Watsonville

NO. 494 RICHARDSON ADOBE
Los Coches Rancho (8,994.2 acres) was granted to María Josefa Soberanes de Richardson by the Mexican government in 1841. Her husband, William Brunner Richardson, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, built the adobe house here in 1843, and planted the nearby locust trees in 1846. This was the site of Captain John C. Frémont's encampment in 1846 and 1847; the adobe was later used as a stage station and post office. It was donated to the State of California in 1958 by Margaret Jacks.
Location: Los Coches Rancho Wayside Campground, NW corner of State Hwy 101 (P.M. 60.5) and Arroyo Seco Rd., 1.5 mi S of Soledad

NO. 532 CASA DE ORO
In the 1850s this building was a general merchandise store operated by Joseph Boston & Co. In later years it was called Casa de Oro because of the unverified story that it had been a gold depository.
Location: Monterey State Historic Park, SW corner of Olivier and Scott, Monterey

NO. 56O HILL TOWN FERRY
Operated by Hiram Cory, this was one of the first ferries to cross the Salinas River. The Monterey County Board of Supervisors regulated the toll which was, in 1877: buggy and horse, 25 cents; buggy and horses, 37-1/2 cents; four horses and wagon, 85 cents; six horses and wagon, $1; horse and saddle, 25 cents; and man on foot, 12-1/2 cents. The ferry operated until a bridge was built in 1889.
Location: On Old Hwy 68, SW corner of Spreckels Blvd. and Old Hwy 68 (P.M. 18.1), 3.0 mi SW of Salinas

NO. 651 SITE OF THE BATTLE OF NATIVIDAD
Combined American forces under Captains Charles D. Burrass (or Burroughs) and Bluford K. Thompson clashed with Comandante Manuel de Jesús Castro's Californians in this vicinity on November 16, 1846. Casualties on each side consisted of several men killed and wounded. The Americans saved a large herd of horses for Lt. Col. John C. Frémont, who then later proceeded south to participate in the Armistice at Cahuenga in January 1847.
Location: SW corner of San Juan Grade (P.M. 4.9) and Crazy Horse Canyon Rd., 5.0 mi NE of Salinas

NO. 712 SOBERANES ADOBE
Don José Estrada, who built this adobe in 1830, sold the property to Don Feliciano Soberanes. The adobe was the home of the Soberanes family from 1860 until 1922, when Mr. and Mrs. William O'Donnell acquired the property. Mrs. O'Donnell gave the adobe to the State in 1953.
Location: Monterey State Historic Park, 336 Pacific St., Monterey

NO. 713 GUTIÉRREZ ADOBE
In 1841 the municipality of Monterey granted a lot to Joaquín Gutiérrez where he and his wife, Josefa, built an adobe home. The house has been donated to the State by the Monterey Foundation.
Location: Monterey State Historic Park, 590 Calle Principal, Monterey

NO. 839 CHAUTAUQUA HALL
The first Chautauqua in the West was organized at Pacific Grove in June 1879 for the presentation of “moral attractions” and “the highest grade of concerts and entertainments.” Known worldwide as “Chautauqua-by-the-Sea,” it made Pacific Grove an unequaled cultural center.
Location: SW corner of 16th St. and Central Ave., Pacific Grove

NO. 870 JOSÉ EUSEBIO BORONDA ADOBE CASA
Built between 1844 and 1848 by José Eusebio Boronda, this is an outstanding example of a Mexican-era rancho adobe. Virtually unaltered since its construction, it shows many features of the “Monterey Colonial” style.
Location: Boronda Adobe Historic Center, 333 Boronda Rd. at W Laurel Dr., Salinas

NO. 934 TEMPORARY DETENTION CAMPS FOR JAPANESE AMERICANS-SALINAS ASSEMBLY CENTER
This monument is dedicated to the 3,586 Monterey Bay area residents of Japanese ancestry, most of whom were American citizens, temporarily confined in the Salinas Rodeo Grounds during World War II, from April to July 1942. They were detained without charges, trial, or establishment of guilt before being incarcerated in permanent camps, mostly at Poston, Arizona.
Location: Sherwood Gardens Rodeo Grounds, Sherwood Hall Community Center 940 N Main St., Salinas

NO. 951 LIGHT STATIONS OF CALIFORNIA (THEMATIC), POINT SUR LIGHT STATION
Spanish explorers and later New England hide and tallow traders found the Big Sur coastline a great hazard. Heavy fogs and extreme winds caused the wreck of many vessels on this coast. The gold rush of 1849 dramatically increased coastal shipping. A lighthouse was clearly needed. President Andrew Johnson signed the Executive Order which reserved the site for lighthouse purposes in 1866. Construction began in 1887 and the lamp was lit on August 1, 1889.
Location: State Hwy 1, 23 mi S of Monterey and 3 mi N of Andrew Molera State Park

SAN LUIS OBISPO

NO. 325 MISSION SAN LUÍS OBISPO DE TOLOSA
Founded by Fray Junípero Serra, OFM, first president of the California missions, Mission San Luís Obispo was the fifth in a chain of 21 missions stretching from San Diego to Sonoma. Built by the Chumash Indians living in the area, its combination of belfry and vestibule is unique among California missions. In 1846 John C. Frémont and his California Battalion quartered here while engaged in the war with Mexico.
Location: Monterey between Chorro and Broad Streets, San Luis Obispo

NO. 326 MISSION SAN MIGUEL ARCÁNGEL
This site was selected because of the great number of Salinan Indians that lived in the vicinity. Fray Fermín Francisco de Lasuén, OFM, second president of the California missions, founded San Miguel Arcángel on July 25, 1797. The 16th in a chain of 21 Franciscan missions, it influenced not only the native population, but the history of California as a whole.
Location: SW corner of Mission St. and San Luis Obispo Rd., San Miguel

NO. 364 SANTA MARGARITA ASISTENCIA (SITE OF)
This asistencia served as an outpost or chapel and storehouse for Mission San Luís Obispo. Here the mission padres and the Indians carried on extensive grain cultivation.
Location: Rancho Santa Margarita Hay Barn (private property, no trespassing), 1/4 mi N of intersection of Yerba Buena Ave. and F St., Santa Margarita

NO. 542  ESTRELLA ADOBE CHURCH
This was the first Protestant church to be erected in the northern part of San Luis Obispo County. Construction was completed in 1878, restoration was completed in 1952.
Location: On Airport Rd., 2.5 mi N of State Hwy 46, Paso Robles

NO. 640  HEARST SAN SIMEON STATE HISTORICAL MONUMENT
Here on the historic Rancho Piedra Blanca, between 1919 and 1947, William Randolph Hearst created La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Hill), including La Casa Grande and adjacent buildings with their rare art treasures and beautiful gardens. The Hearst Corporation presented it to the State of California in 1958 as a memorial to William Randolph Hearst, donated in the name of his mother, Phoebe Apperson Hearst.
Location: Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument, plaque located in entrance rest area, State Hwy 1, San Simeon

NO. 720 DALLIDET ADOBE
This was the home of Pierre Hyppolite Dallidet, a native of France, who settled in San Luis Obispo in 1853 and became a vineyardist. His son, Paul Dallidet, gave it to the San Luis Obispo County Historical Society in 1953, in memory of the Dallidet family that had occupied it for a century.
Location: 1309 Toro at Pacific, San Luis Obispo

NO. 726 THE SEBASTIAN STORE
This is the oldest store building along the north coast of San Luis Obispo County. Built in the 1860s at Whaling Point, one-half mile to the west, it was moved to its present location in 1878. It has been operated by the Sebastian family for over half a century.
Location: San Simeon Road, San Simeon

NO. 802 AH LOUIS STORE
Ah Louis' Store, established in 1874, was the first Chinese store in the county. It sold general merchandise and herbs and served as a bank, counting house, and post office for the numerous Chinese coolies who dug the eight tunnels through the Mountains of Cuesta for the Southern Pacific Railroad, 1884 to 1894.
Location: 800 Palm St. at Chorro St., San Luis Obispo

NO. 821 MORRO ROCK
An important mariner's navigational landfall for over 300 years, Morro Reef was chronicled in the diaries of Portolá, Fr. Crespí, and Costanso in 1769, when they camped near this area on their trek to find Monterey. Sometimes called the “Gibraltar of the Pacific,” it is the last in the famous chain of nine peaks that starts in the City of San Luis Obispo.
Location:  Located in city park, foot of Morro Rock, on Embarcadero Rd, 0.4 mi NW of Morro Bay

NO. 936 RIOS-CALEDONIA ADOBE
This imposing building is an excellent example of California's Mexican-era architecture. With Indian labor, Petronilo Ríos built the two-story adobe about 1846 as his residence and the headquarters for his sheep and cattle operations. Named “Caledonia” in the 1860s, it served as a hotel and stop on the stage route between Los Angeles and San Francisco until 1886. Restoration was begun in 1968 by the Friends of the Adobes.
Location: 700 Mission St., San Miguel

NO. 939 Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments (Thematic) NITT WITT RIDGE
Nitt Witt Ridge, one of California's remarkable Twentieth Century Folk Art Environments, is the creation of Arthur Harold Beal (der Tinkerpaw or Capt. Nitt Witt), a Cambria Pines pioneer, who sculpted the land using hand tools and indigenous materials, remarkable inventiveness, and self-taught skills. A blend of native materials and contemporary elements, impressive in its sheer mass and meticulous placement, it is a revealing memorial to Art's unique cosmic humor and zest for life.
Location: Nitt Witt Ridge, 881 Hillcrest Dr., Cambria Pines

NO. 958 ADMINISTRATION AND VETERAN'S MEMORIAL BUILDING
This building, dedicated in 1914 and completed in 1918, was the headquarters for the Atascadero Colony, a model community envisioned by Edward G. Lewis. Designed by Walter D. Bliss of San Francisco and built of reinforced concrete and locally produced brick, it had also served as a private school for boys, a veteran's memorial building, and county offices. It is currently the seat of municipal government.
Location: 6500 Palma Ave., Atascadero

NO. 1033 RANCHO NIPOMO (Cpt. William G. Dana Rancho)
Rancho Nipomo, almost 38,000 acres in size, was granted to Boston sea captain William Goodwin Dana, in 1837. For many years Rancho Nipomo was the first stopping place on El Camino Real south of Mission San Luis Obispo. From 1839 until Dana’s death in 1858, the Rancho was known throughout the state as a hospitable stopping place for travelers, including Captain John C. Frémont, Edwin Bryant, and General Henry W. Halleck. In 1847 the “Dana Ranch” became one of four designated exchange points on California’s first U.S. mail route.
Location: 6715 Oakglen Ave., Nipomo

Santa Barbara

NO. 248 GAVIOTA PASS
Here, on Christmas Day, 1846, it is said that natives and soldiers from the Presidio of Santa Barbara lay in ambush for Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont, U.S.A., and his battalion. Frémont learned of the plot and, guided by Benjamin Foxen and his son William, came instead over the San Marcos Pass, to capture Santa Barbara without bloodshed.
Location: N-bound State Hwy 101 rest stop (P.M. 46.9), 1.5 mi NW of Gaviota

NO. 305 MISSION SANTA INÉS
This mission was founded in 1804 by Father Estévan Tapís to reach the Indians living east of the Coast Range. Construction was completed in 1817. It was through the efforts of Father Alexander Buckler, starting in 1904, that Mission Santa Inés was restored as much as possible to its old charm and grace.
Location: 1760 Mission Dr., Solvang 

NO. 306 BURTON MOUND
Thought to have once been the Native American village of Syujtun, this site has yielded some of the most important archeological evidence found in California. In 1542 the village was recorded by Cabrillo while on his voyage of discovery, and again in 1769 by Fr. Crespí and the redoubtable Portolá. Don Luís Burton, after whom the mound was named, acquired the property in 1860.
Location: 129 W Mason St. at Burton Circle, Santa Barbara

NO. 307 CASA DE LA GUERRA
A common council was duly elected near this site on August 26, 1850, two weeks before California statehood. The City of Santa Barbara held its first official meeting here in 1875, the first city hall was erected here, and the area is still center of city's governmental activities. The plaza was the scene of early Santa Barbara fiestas, and the hospitality at the de la Guerra house set standards for Santa Barbara.
Location: El Paseo Plaza, SE corner of De La Guerra St. and De La Guerra Plaza, Santa Barbara

NO. 308 COVARRUBIAS ADOBE
The adobe was built by Native American labor in 1817 for Don Domingo Carrillo. In 1838, his daughter married Don José María Covarrubias, who in 1852 became the first federal elector from California. Descendants of these families, many of them leaders in public affairs, occupied this house for over a century. John R. Southworth moved and rebuilt the “Historic Adobe” here in 1924 as part of a civic program of historic preservation. Los Adobes de los Rancheros acquired the property in 1938 as headquarters for Los Rancheros Visitadores and for the use and enjoyment of the people.
Location: 715 N Santa Barbara St., Santa Barbara

NO. 309 MISSION SANTA BARBARA
Santa Barbara Mission was founded December 4, 1786. Portions of five units of its extensive waterworks, built by Native American labor and preserved in this part, are a filter house, Spanish gristmill, sections of aqueducts, and two reservoirs, the larger of which, built in 1806, is used today as part of the city water system. The fountain and lavadero are nearby, in front of the mission, and a dam built in 1807 is located in the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, one and one-half miles up Mission Canyon. Only ruins remain of the mission's pottery kiln, guard house, and tanning vats.
Location: 2201 Laguna St., plaque located in Mission Historical Park, 1,000 ft W at old 1806 Reservoir, Santa Barbara

NO. 340 MISSION LA PURÍSIMA
Established December 8, 1787, by Father Lasuén, the mission was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1812. Removed from control of Franciscans during secularization of the missions, it was abandoned in 1834. State and National Park Services and the Civilian Conservation Corps restored major and many small structures and the water system so that today La Purisima is the only example in California of a complete mission.
Location: La Purisima Mission State Historic Park, N side of intersection of Mission Gate Rd. and Purisima Rd., on State Hwy 246, 3 mi E of Lompoc.

NO. 361 OLD LOBERO THEATRE
José Lobero opened the region's first legitimate theatre on this site on February 22, 1873. For many years the old theatre was the center of social life in Santa Barbara. A new Lobero Theatre, opened in 1924 on the same site, continues to serve the cultural interests of the area.
Location: 33 E Canon Perdido St., Santa Barbara

NO. 535 CARPINTERIA AND INDIAN VILLAGE OF MISHOPSHNOW
The Chumash Indian village of Mishopshnow, discovered by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo on August 14, 1542, was located one-fourth mile southwest of the monument. Fray Juan Crespí of the Gaspar de Portolá Expedition named it San Roque on August 17, 1769. Portolá's soldiers, observing the Indians building wooden canoes, called the village La Carpinteria—“The Carpenter's Shop.”
Location: Carpinteria Valley Museum of History, 950 Maple Ave., second plaque located at 1,000 S Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria

NO. 559 HASTINGS ADOBE
Built in 1854 by Captain Horatio Gates Trussell of Orland, Maine, the adobe is partly constructed of material from the wreck of the S.S. Winfield Scott on Anacapa Island. The Winchesters acquired the adobe in 1882 and Katherine Bagg Hastings, niece of Miss Sarah Winchester, bequeathed it to the Santa Barbara Historical Society in 1935.
Location: 412 W Montecito St., Santa Barbara

NO. 582 WELL, HILL 4
This well, spudded September 26, 1905, and completed April 30, 1906, is the first oil well in which a water shutoff was attained by pumping cement through the tubing and back of the casing-forerunner of the modern cementing technique. It was drilled to a depth of 2,507 feet by Union Oil Company of California, 1,872 feet of 10-inch casing and 2,237 feet of 8-inch casing were so securely cemented off that the well produced for over forty-five years.
Location: Mission Hills District, plaque is located 1.6 mi N of Union Oil Co. Production Office, office is located off of Rucker Rd., 5 mi NE of Lompoc

NO. 636 ROYAL SPANISH PRESIDIO
This presidio was established April 19 – 21, 1782 by Governor Felipe de Neve, Padre Junípero Serra, and Lieutenant José Francisco Ortega, under orders of King Carlos III to provide the benefits of government for the inhabitants of the Santa Barbara Channel region of California.
Location: El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park, NW corner of Santa Barbara and Canyon Perdido Streets, Santa Barbara

NO. 721 CARRILLO ADOBE
Daniel Hill of Massachusetts built this adobe about 1825 for his bride, Rafaela L. Ortega y Olivera. She was the granddaughter of José Francisco Ortega, founder and first commandante of the Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara.
Location: 11 E Carrillo St., Santa Barbara

NO. 877 CHAPEL OF SAN RAMON
This redwood frame chapel, erected in 1875 by Frederick and Ramona Foxen Wickenden, illustrates the transition between the architecture of the old missions and the frame churches of the American settlers. It is a unique example of the use of wood to create strong, simple forms that had formerly been executed in adobe.
Location: SW corner of Tepusquet and Foxen Canyon Roads, 15 mi SE of Santa Maria

NO. 928 SITE OF ORIGINAL MISSION AND REMAINING RUINS OF BUILDINGS OF MISSION DE LA PURÍSIMA CONCEPCIÓN DE MARÍA SANTISIMA
The ruins at this site are part of the original Mission La Purísima, founded by Padre Fermín de Lasuén on December 8, 1787, as the 11th in the chain of Spanish Missions in California. The mission was destroyed by earthquake on December 12, 1812, the present Mision (mission) La Purisima was then established several miles away.
Location: 5085 'T' St. at E Locust Ave., Lompoc

NO. 1037 SANTA BARBARA COUNTY COURTHOUSE
The Santa Barbara County Courthouse was constructed in 1929 and is a complex of four buildings occupying an entire city block in downtown Santa Barbara.  It was designed by master architect William Mooser in the Spanish Colonial/Moorish Revival style.  It is an extraordinary example of its style, with an elaborate array of detail emulating a Spanish castle or fortress. 
Location:  1100 Anacapa St., Santa Barbara

VENTURA

NO. 113 SITE OF JUNÍPERO SERRA'S CROSS
The first cross on the hill known as “La Loma de la Cruz,” or the Hill of the Cross, was erected by Junípero Serra at the founding of the Mission San Buenaventura on March 31, 1782. This was the ninth and last mission founded by Father Serra in California.
Location:  Grant Park, at end of Ferro Dr, Ventura

NO. 114 OLD MISSION RESERVOIR
Part of the mission water system for Mission San Buenaventura, this was the settling tank or receiving reservoir from which water was distributed to the church and to the few Spanish families who lived near the mission.
Location:  Eastwood Park, N of Valdez Alley, 115 E Main St., Ventura
  
NO. 114-1 SAN BUENAVENTURA MISSION AQUEDUCT
The aqueduct at Canada Larga Road is two surviving sections of viaduct about 100 feet long and made of cobble stone and mortar. Originally, the watercourse ran from a point on the Ventura River about 1/2 mile north of the remaining ruins and carried the water to holding tanks behind the San Buenaventura Mission, a total of about 7 miles. The aqueduct was built by Chumash Indians from 1805 – 15 to meet the needs of the mission population and consisted of both ditches and elevated stone masonry. The entire water system was destroyed by floods and abandoned in 1862.
Location: 234 Canada Larga Rd., Ventura

NO. 115 OLIVAS ADOBE
Continuous use has preserved this adobe, the only early two-story adobe in the Santa Clara Valley. A small one-story adobe built in 1837 was enlarged in 1849 by Don Raimundo Olivas, a prosperous cattle rancher.
Location:  4200 Olivas Park, Ventura

NO. 310 MISSION SAN BUENA VENTURA
This mission, established in 1782, was the ninth and the last to be dedicated by Father Junípero Serra. The first chapel and church were destroyed, the present mission church was begun in 1793 and completed in 1809.
Location:  210 E Main St. at Figueroa, Ventura
  
NO. 553 RANCHO CAMULOS
On January 22, 1839, Governor Juan Alvarado granted the 48,815-acre Rancho San Francisco to Antonio del Valle. Jacoba Feliz filed a claim against this grant that was dismissed on June 8, 1857. The Del Valle family chose to live on the Rancho at Camulos, later known as the Home of Ramona.
Location: On State Hwy 126 (P.M. 30.6), 2.2 mi E of Piru
  
NO. 624 WARRING PARK
On August 11, 1769, the explorers and priests accompanying Portolá found a populous village of Piru Indians near this point. Carrying their bowstrings loose, the Indians offered necklaces of stones, in exchange for which Portolá presented them with beads.
Location: Warring Park, 700 block of Orchard St., Piru

NO. 659 STAGECOACH INN
Originally located some 200 yards to the north, the Stagecoach Inn was built in 1876. Its redwood lumber came by sea and was freighted up the steep Conejo Grade by multiteam wagons. From 1887 to 1901, the hotel served as a regular depot for the Coast Stage Line, which carried both passengers and mail. In 1965 it was moved to its present location.
Location:  51 S Ventu Park Rd., Newbury Park

NO. 727 PORTOLÁ EXPEDITION
On August 11, 1769, the Portolá Expedition arrived at the junction of the Arroyo Mupu and Santa Paula Creek, at a place they named the Holy Martyrs Ipolito and Cassiano. The priests of the Mission San Buenaventura here established the Asistencia Santa Paula, where they held services for the Mupu Indians.
Location:  Santa Paula Boys Club Recreation Center, 1400 block of Harvard Blvd., Santa Paula
  
NO. 756 SYCAMORE TREE
In 1846 General John C. Frémont passed this sycamore tree on his way to sign a treaty with General Andrés Pico to secure California for annexation to the United States. The tree has served as a resting place, a polling place, a temporary post office, and an outdoor chapel.
Location: On State Hwy 126 (P.M. 16.7) at Hall Rd., 4 mi E of Santa Paula
  
NO. 847 VENTURA COUNTY COURTHOUSE
The courthouse was designed in 1910 by one of the early pioneers of architecture in Southern California, Albert C. Martin, Sr. Dedicated in July 1913, the structure is an outstanding example of neoclassic architecture, a style prevalent in the United States at the turn of the century. The courthouse is an extremely well-proportioned building, and is rich in detail and materials not likely to be found elsewhere in the Southern California area.
Location: 501 Poli St. at N California St., Ventura

NO. 979 RANCHO SIMI
This is the site of the headquarters of the Spanish Rancho San José de Nuestra Senora de Altagarcia y Simi. The name derives from “Shimiji,” the name of the Chumash village here before the Spanish. At 113,000 acres, Rancho Simi was one of the state's largest land grants. Two prominent Spanish and Mexican family names are connected with the Rancho: Santiago Pico who first received the grant, and José de la Guerra who purchased the Rancho in 1842. Two rooms of original adobe remain, part of the Strathearn home built in 1892 – 93.
Location:  Robert P. Strathearn Historical Park, 137 Strathearn Place, Simi Valley
  
NO. 996 UNION OIL COMPANY BUILDING
The Santa Paula Hardware Company Building, more commonly referred to as the Union Oil Company Building, is significant for its historical importance as the birthplace of the Union Oil Company on October 17, 1890. The building continued to serve as a field division office after the main headquarters moved to Los Angeles in 1900. In 1950 the Union Oil Museum was established and in 1990, for its Centennial Celebration, the building was restored to its original appearance and reopened as a new state-of-the-art oil museum.
Location:  1003 E Main St., Santa Paula

HISTORICAL SOCIETIES, MUSEUMS,
AND LIBRARIES BY COUNTY

JUMP TO: Monterey || San Luis Obispo || Santa Barbara || Ventura

MONTEREY

Big Sur Historical Society
(831) 620-0541
www.bigsurhistory.org

California History Room, Monterey Public Library
www.monterey.org/library

Carmel Valley Historical Society
(831) 659-5715
http://plee.com/cvhs

Monterey County Historical Society
(831) 757-8085
www.mchsmuseum.com

Pacific Grove Heritage Society
(831) 372-2898
www.pacificgroveheritage.org

Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History
(831) 648-5716
www.pgmuseum.org

San Benito County Historical Society
(831) 635-0335
www.sbchistoricalsociety.org

SAN LUIS OBISPO

Atascadero Historical Society
(805) 466-8341

Cal Poly Special Collections
http://lib.calpoly.edu/specialcollections

Cambria Historical Society
(805) 927-2891
www.cambriahistoricalsociety.org

Camp Roberts Historical Museum
(805) 238-8288
www.militarymuseum.org/CampRobertsMuseum.html

Cayucos Historical Society
(805) 995-1264
www.heritageshared.org

Central Coast History Foundation
(805) 545-7618
www.centralcoasthistory.org

Estrella Warbird Museum
(805) 227-0440
www.ewarbirds.org

Morro Bay Historical Society
(805) 772-1058
http://morro-bay.com/historical/

Mission San Miguel
(805) 467-2131 or 467-3256
www.missionsanmiguel.org

Northern San Luis Obispo County Historical Museums and Societies www.slomuseums.org

Paso Robles Historical Society
(805) 238-4996           

Paso Robles Pioneer Museum
(805) 239-4556
www.pasoroblespioneermuseum.org

Rios-Caledonia Adobe
(805) 467-3357
www.rios-caledoniaadobe.org

San Luis Obispo Archaeological Society
(805) 544-0176
www.tcsn.net/sloarchaeology

San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum
(805) 543-0638
www.slochs.org

Santa Margarita Historical Society
www.santamargaritahistoricalsociety.org

South County Historical Society
(805) 481-4128
www.southcountyhistory.org

Templeton Historical Museum
(805) 434-0807
www.templetonmuseum.com

SANTA BARBARA

Carpinteria Valley Historical Society & Museum
(805) 684-3112
www.carpinteriahistoricalmuseum.org

Goleta Valley Historical Society
(805) 964-4407
www.goletahistory.org

Guadalupe Historical Museum
(805) 343-5901
www.guadalupemuseum.org

Lompoc Valley Historical Society
(805) 735-4626
www.lompochistory.org

Museum of Natural History
www.sbnature.org

Santa Barbara Historical Society
(805) 966-1601
www.santabarbaramuseum.com

Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation
(805) 965-0093
www.sbthp.org

Santa Maria Valley Historical Society
(805) 922-3130
www.santamariahistory.org

Santa Ynez Valley Historical Society
(805) 688-7889
www.syvm.org

UCSB Special Collections
www.library.ucsb.edu/speccoll

VENTURA

Fillmore Historical Society/Museum
(805) 524-0948         
  
Museum of Ventura County
www.venturamuseum.org

Ojai Valley Historical Society and Museum
(805) 646-2290
www.ojaivalleymuseum.org

Pleasant Valley Historical Society
www.pleasantvalleyhistoricalsociety.org

Port Hueneme Historical Museum
(805) 488-2023

San Buenaventura Heritage Inc.
(805) 644-3286
www.dudleyhouse.org

Simi Valley Historical Society and Strathearn Historical Park and Museum
(805) 526-6453
www.simihistory.com

Stagecoach Inn Museum
(805) 498-9441
www.stagecoachmuseum.org

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