Place:Big Sur, Monterey, California, United States

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Big Sur is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast of California between Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. It is frequently praised for its dramatic scenery. Big Sur has been called the "longest and most scenic stretch of undeveloped coastline in the contiguous United States",^[1] a sublime "national treasure that demands extraordinary procedures to protect it from development",^[2] and "one of the most beautiful coastlines anywhere in the world, an isolated stretch of road, mythic in reputation".^[3] The views, redwood forests, hiking, beaches, and other recreational opportunities have made Big Sur a popular destination for about 7 million people who live within a day's drive and visitors from across the world. With 4.5 to 7 million visitors annually, it is among the top tourist destinations in the United States, comparable to Yosemite National Park, but with considerably fewer services, parking, roads, and related infrastructure.^[4][5]

The region is often confused with an unincorporated village, a collection of small roadside businesses and homes, also known as Big Sur.^[6] The larger region known as Big Sur does not have specific boundaries but is generally considered to include the segment of California State Route 1 between Malpaso Creek near Carmel Highlands^[7] in the north and San Carpóforo Creek near San Simeon in the south,^[8] as well as the entire Santa Lucia range between these creeks.^[6] The interior region is mostly uninhabited, while the coast remains relatively isolated and sparsely populated, with between 1,800 and 2,000 year-round residents and relatively few visitor accommodations scattered among four small settlements. The region remained one of the most inaccessible areas of California and the entire United States until, after 18 years of construction, the Carmel–San Simeon Highway (now signed as part of State Route 1) was completed in 1937. Along with the ocean views, this winding, narrow road, often cut into the face of towering seaside cliffs, dominates the visitor's experience of Big Sur. The highway has been closed more than 55 times by landslides, and in May 2017, a slide blocked the highway at Mud Creek, north of Salmon Creek near the San Luis Obispo County line, to just south of Gorda. The road was reopened on July 18, 2018.

The region is protected by the Big Sur Local Coastal Plan, which preserves it as "open space, a small residential community, and agricultural ranching." Approved in 1986, the plan is one of the most restrictive local-use programs in the state, and is widely regarded as one of the most restrictive documents of its kind anywhere. The program protects viewsheds from the highway and many vantage points, and severely restricts the density of development. About 60% of the coastal region is owned by governmental or private agencies which do not allow any development. The majority of the interior region is part of the Los Padres National Forest, Ventana Wilderness, Silver Peak Wilderness or Fort Hunter Liggett.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Native Americans

Three tribes of Native Americans — the Ohlone, Esselen, and Salinan — are the first known people to have inhabited the area. The Ohlone, also known as the Costanoans, is believed to have lived in the region from San Francisco to Point Sur. The Esselen lived in the area between Point Sur south to Big Creek and inland including the upper tributaries of the Carmel River and Arroyo Seco watersheds. The Salinan lived from Big Creek south to San Carpóforo Creek.

Archaeological evidence shows that the Esselen lived in Big Sur as early as 3500 BC, leading a nomadic, hunter-gatherer existence.^[9] The aboriginal people inhabited fixed village locations, and followed food sources seasonally, living near the coast in winter to harvest rich stocks of otter, mussels, abalone, and other sea life. In the summer and fall, they traveled inland to gather acorns and hunt deer. Middens attributed to the Essleen have been found as far south as Slates Hot Springs.

The native people hollowed mortar holes into large exposed rocks or boulders which they used to grind the acorns into flour. These can be found throughout the region. Arrows were made of cane and pointed with hardwood foreshafts.^[10] The tribes also used controlled burning techniques to increase tree growth and food production.^[6]

The population was limited as the Santa Lucia Mountains made the area relatively inaccessible and long-term habitation a challenge. The population of the Esselen who lived in the Big Sur area are estimated from a few hundred to a thousand or more.

The Salinan people are believed to have lived south of Junipero Serra Peak, perhaps ranging from Slates Hot Springs on the coast to Soledad in the Salinas Valley and into northern San Luis Obispo County.

Spanish exploration and settlement

The first Europeans to see Big Sur were Spanish mariners led by Juan Cabrillo in 1542, who sailed up the coast without landing. When Cabrillo sailed by, he described the coastal range as "mountains which seem to reach the heavens, and the sea beats on them; sailing along close to land, it appears as though they would fall on the ships."^[6]

Two centuries passed before the Spaniards attempted to colonize the area. On September 13, 1769, an expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá were the first Europeans to enter the Big Sur region when they arrived at San Carpóforo Canyon near Ragged Point.^[6] While camping there, they were visited by six indigenous people who offered pinole and fish and received beads in exchange. They explored the coast ahead and concluded it was impassable. They were forced to turn inland up the steep arroyo. The march through the mountains was one of the most difficult portions of the expedition's journey. The Spanish were forced to "make a road with crowbar and pickaxe". Crespi wrote, "The mountains which enclose it are perilously steep, and all are inaccessible, not only for men but also for goats and deer." From a high peak near the San Antonio River, they could see nothing but mountains in every direction.^[11] They reached Monterey on October 1. When they attempted to explore further south, the scouts found their way blocked by "the same cliff that had forced us back from the shore and obliged us to travel through the mountains."^[11]

After the Spanish established the California missions in 1770, they baptized and forced the native population to labor at the missions. While living at the missions, the aboriginal population was exposed to diseases unknown to them, like smallpox and measles, for which they had no immunity, devastating the Native American population and their culture. Many of the remaining Native Americans assimilated with Spanish and Mexican ranchers in the nineteenth century.^[6]

In 1909, forest supervisors reported that three Indian families still lived within what was then known as the Monterey National Forest. The Encinale family of 16 members and the Quintana family with three members lived in the vicinity of The Indians (now known as Santa Lucia Memorial Park west of Ft. Hunger Liggett). The Mora family consisting of three members was living to the south along the Nacimiento-Ferguson Road.

Spanish ranchos

Along with the rest of Alta California, Big Sur became part of Mexico when it gained independence from Spain in 1821. But, due to its inaccessibility, only a few small portions of the Big Sur region were included in land grants given by Mexican governors José Figueroa and Juan Bautista Alvarado.^[12]

Rancho Tularcitos

Rancho Tularcitos, of land, was granted in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Rafael Goméz. It was located in upper Carmel Valley along Tularcitos Creek.

Rancho San Francisquito

Rancho San Francisquito was a land grant given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to Catalina Manzanelli de Munrás. She was the wife of Esteban Munrás (1798–1850), a Monterey trader, amateur painter, and grantee of Rancho San Vicente. The grant was located in the upper Carmel Valley, inland and east of Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito.

Rancho Milpitas

Rancho Milpitas was a land grant given in 1838 by governor Juan Alvarado to Ygnacio Pastor.^[13] The grant encompassed present-day Jolon and land to the west. When Pastor obtained title from the Public Land Commission in 1875, Faxon Atherton immediately purchased the land. By 1880, the James Brown Cattle Company owned and operated Rancho Milpitas and neighboring Rancho Los Ojitos. William Randolph Hearst's Piedmont Land and Cattle Company acquired the rancho in 1925. In 1940, in anticipation of the increased forces required in World War II, the U.S. War Department purchased the land from Hearst to create a troop training facility known as the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation.

Rancho El Sur

On July 30, 1834, Figueroa granted Rancho El Sur, two square leagues of land totalling 8,949-acres (3,622 ha), to Juan Bautista Alvarado. The grant extended between the Little Sur River and what is now called Cooper Point. Alvarado later traded Rancho El Sur for the more accessible Rancho Bolsa del Potrero y Moro Cojo in the northern Salinas Valley, owned by his uncle by marriage, Captain John B. R. Cooper. Rancho El Sur is still an operating cattle ranch.

Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito

In 1839, Alvarado granted Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito, also about two square leagues of land totalling , to Marcelino Escobar, a prominent official of Monterey. The grant was bounded on the north by the Carmel River and on the south by Palo Colorado Canyon.

In 1848, two days after the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill, Mexico ceded California to the United States as a result of the Mexican–American War.

First survey

During the first survey of the coast conducted by the U.S. Coast Survey in 1886, the surveyor reported:

Homesteaders

The first known European settler in Big Sur was John Davis who in 1853 built a v cabin near the present-day site l of the Mount Manuel Trail trailhead.^[6] In 1868, Native Americans Manual and Florence Innocenti bought Davis' cabin and land for $50.

John Bautista Rogers Cooper, born John Rogers Cooper, was a Yankee from the British Channel Islands who arrived in Monterey in 1823. He became a Mexican citizen, converted to Catholicism, and was given a Spanish name at his baptism. He married Native American Encarnacion Vallejo and acquired considerable land, including Rancho El Sur, on which he had a cabin built in April or May 1861. The Cooper Cabin is the oldest surviving structure in Big Sur.

William B. Post arrived in California in 1848 and was the foreman of the Soberanes Ranch when he built a single-room cabin in 1867. His son added to it in 1877, when the family moved there full-time. The Post House is a historic landmark and is on the grounds of the Ventana Inn resort.

Michael Pfeiffer, his wife, and four children arrived in Big Sur in 1869 to settle on the south coast. After reaching Sycamore Canyon, they found it to their liking and decided to stay.^[6] He filed a land patent on January 20, 1883, claiming two sections of land he already resided on near and immediately north of the mouth of Sycamore Canyon. They had six more children later on.

Another important pioneer-era historic resource is the Swetnam / Trotter House, a late 19th-century dwelling located at the mouth of Palo Colorado Canyon.

After the passage of the federal Homestead Act in 1862, a few hardy settlers were drawn by the promise of free 160-acre (65  ha) parcels. After the claimant filed for the land, they had gained full ownership after five years of residence or by paying $1.50 per acre within six months. Each claim was for 160 acres, a quarter section of free government land.^[14]

William and Sarah (Barnes) Plaskett and their family settled in Pacific Valley in 1869. They built several homes and a saw mill. Other settlers included William F. Notley, who homesteaded at the mouth of Palo Colorado Canyon in 1891. He began harvesting tanoak bark from the canyon, a lucrative source of income at the time. Notley's Landing is named after him. Isaac Swetnam worked for Notley and built a house at the mouth of Palo Colorado Canyon, which is still a residence. Sam Trotter, who also worked for Notley, later bought Swetnam's house. He married Adelaide Pfeiffer, the daughter of Micheal Pfeiffer, and they raised a family there from 1906 to 1923.

Further south, in Pacific Valley, is the Junge Cabin, a one-room redwood cabin built in 1920 by homesteader John Junge. The John Little State Natural Reserve straddling the mouth of Lime Creek preserves the original 1917 cabin of conservationist Elizabeth K. Livermore.

Many other local sites retain names from settlers during this period: Bottcher, Cooper's Point, Gamboa, Anderson, Partington, Dani, Harlans, McQuades, Ross, and McWay are a few of the place names.^[15] Wilber Harlan, a native of Indiana, homesteaded near Lucia in 1885. His family descendants are still operating the Lucia Lodge.^[15]

Industrial era and gold rush

Along with industries based on tanoak bark harvesting, gold mining, and limestone processing, the local economy provided more jobs and supported a larger population than it does today. From the 1860s through the start of the twentieth century, lumbermen cut down most of the readily accessible coast redwoods. Redwood harvesting further inland was always limited by the rugged terrain and difficulty in transporting the lumber to market. Pioneer William F. Notley was one of the first to harvest the bark of the Tanbark Oak from the Little Sur River canyon.^[16]

Tanbark was used to manufacture tannic acid, necessary to the growing leather tanning industry located in Santa Cruz, and to preserve fish nets. The tanbark was harvested from the isolated trees inland, left to dry, corded, and brought out on mules or hauled out on "go-devils". The go-devil was a wagon with two wheels on the front, while the rear had rails for pulling. Notley constructed a landing at the mouth of the Palo Colorado River like that at Bixby Landing to the south. The tanbark was loaded by cable onto waiting vessels anchored offshore. In 1889, as much as 50,000 cords of tanbark were hauled out from the Little Sur River and Big Sur River watersheds.^[6] A small village grew up around Notley's Landing from 1898 to 1907. Near the start of the 20th century, the tan oak trees were becoming seriously depleted, which slowly led to the demise of the industries they had created.

A point on the Palo Colorado road is still nicknamed "The Hoist" because of the very steep road which required wagon-loads of tanbark and lumber to be hoisted by block and tackle hitched to oxen. The old block and tackle on a beam is still mounted between mailboxes.

In the 1880s, gold was found in the Los Burros District at Alder Creek in the mountains east of present-day Gorda. The gold rush town of Manchester at existed for a few short years. The town boasted a population of 200, four stores, a restaurant, five saloons, a dance hall, and a hotel, but it was abandoned soon after the start of the twentieth century and burned to the ground in 1909. Miners extracted about $150,000 in gold (about $ in ) during the mine's existence.^[17]

The trip from Monterey to the Pfeiffer Ranch usually took all day by wagon. If the road was in bad shape, the stage driver only took a lightweight spring wagon. The rough road ended at the Pfeiffer Resort on the Big Sur River. It could be impassible in winter. Local entrepreneurs built small boat landings like what is known today as Bixby Landing at a few coves along the coast from which supplies could be received and products could be shipped. At locations where it was impossible to land products directly onshore, a cable hoist was built from land to schooners anchored just offshore.^[18] A steamship would make a trip once a year in the fall from San Francisco to Big Sur to drop off supplies that could not be transported by wagon. In 1894, ranch owners Post, Pfeiffer, and Castro hired the steamer Bonita to bring lumber and seed oats to the coast. It dropped off the freight at the mouth of the Big Sur River and Big Creek, north of Lucia. A large crowd gathered to receive the supplies and to load butter, honey, beans, wool, hides, and other products onto the ship. Only the stone foundations of some of these landings remain today.^[19]

In the late 1800s, the Ventana Power Company operated a sawmill near present-day Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. They began planning to build a dam on the Big Sur River just downstream of the confluence of Ventana Creek and the Big Sur River. They hoped to sell the electricity to the City of Monterey. They built a diversion channel along the Big Sur River, but the 1906 San Francisco earthquake bankrupted the company and they abandoned the project. The stonework from the diversion channel is still visible. Few other signs of this brief industrial period are visible. The rugged, isolated terrain kept out all but the sturdiest and most self-sufficient settlers. Travelers who ventured south of the Post Ranch rode horseback along trails that connected the various homesteaders along the coast.

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