In 1776, the Channel Coast was a very different place. i
Long before it hosted its diYa~e population, its The Anza Expedition left the agriculture and its oil platforms, even before the desert of Northern Mexico Old Mission and the Presidio. the Santa Barbara in October of 1775 and made Coast was a place of wild beauty inhabited by their way, by pack mule and thousands of indigenous people. This was the on foot, through harsh terrain world encountered by Lt. Colonel Juan Bautista with the hope and trust that de Anza and Father Pedro Font. in February of Anza and his soldiers would 1776, as they led over 240 coloni'rs on the final leg lead them to a land of new of their 1,200-mile journey !To m the Sonoran beginnings. The lives of these Desert of Mexico. families stood to be greatly improved in Alta California, where they would the fog past rhe Chum.hh villages at Syuxtun and The colonists, a group made up of men, women, have the opportunity to own land and transcend Helo', and -a\\" \\ hJ c:: -;pouting off the Gaviota and children, were the fir t fam ilie to emigrate the racial caste system of New Spain. Made up of Coast. They encou 1 crt•d the Chumash all along from New Spain and settle rhe tTonrier of Alta people of African, European, and indigenous de the way, admirin~ rh ·1r fine boats (tomols) and California. The rugged coumry and its natives scent, they would become the multiracial society maritime kill . tr.IL in; beads for fish that had just had seen only priests and soldier\ cattered to the that formed the cities that we know today. been hauled in from he sea near Point Concep few existing missions and pre idi o that marked tion. They \Yal ked along the dunes of the north its occupation by foreigner . ·with the settlement The native people of Alta California, including ern coast, seeing \\"hat most of us may now only of families, along with their liYe tock and worldly the Chumash of the Santa Barbara Channel, would see from the window of a moving train. possessions, Alta California would be truly also see changes with the arrival of the colonists. and incontrovertibly occupied by Spain. As their homelands became populated with Although the expedition came and went in less newcomers, the natives were than a week, Santa Barbara would become an subjugated by the institutions of im.portant place to the new Californians in the the Mission and Presidio, forc years to come. Some of the men who walked up ing some to leave their villages the beach that winter would return, as members forever. This pattern of dis of the founding garrimn of the Presidio. Today placement would play out in we recognize the Anza expedition's journey and the years and on the waves of its importance to our country through the Juan population to come. Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. Descendants of those original colonists work with Anza's expedition spent five organizations like the Santa Barbara Trust for days traveling along the coast Historic Preservation to honor their pioneering of \Yhat is 110\Y Santa Barbara ancestors and to remember a California and a Coumy. They walked through Santa Barbara that was still yet to be. the fr igid urf alo ng the beach at R incon. lumbered through
MORE INFORMATION California Coastal Trail i. i 11 ...1/ir;,.,,1.1" ,w.i/1r.1il. i1!f(1
California State Parks (C/1i11111el Co,u Di_;n ;} .. p.zri.;_ •. 1• .:' ' Chuma h .Mar itime A sociation l ~- ,, '.f Htn1.1:!11'1~1n ~, tt.. c..l•-.: Guadalupe- ' ipomo Dune Center l '! ,. d1t•lt_: 1it l}r-~ :\1is ion La Puri ima
:\1i sion anta Barbara
~ational Park ervice Founded April 21 , 17 2. he ...i1 .i 13:irbarJ. j i.I' B.1111 'J .' .-111 .::.1. -.r• ··i.1 Hu nc"ff.11/ Royal Pres idio \\"aS the la r !l • .l -h.1111 Oi- tcrnr f·· ,, .. It ,I military fortresses built by th · p.111i h, k 11~ rhe anta Barbara County Park coast of Alta California, then i \\ii an · r n !•,,~I _ ~ ~ f"'1rJ.!~.; tier. Others had been estabh hed .1r .11. I )1e; . Santa Barbara .\1useum of Natural Hi tory San Francisco and Monter ·y. PJ ire Ju11ipero Serra, well known fo r his ka er,h1 m i.1undmg anta Barbara County Trails Council the California mission . ble e rhe ire of 1.1 , .. tr.llL.t''
The presidios played a vital role in the o -cup.irion Te>."t: r ' Q1111 I :: of New Spain. They protected th e mi ion J11d Oe 0 ernment, and guarded the counrry a ~Jm r roreign Co, er Painting: D.r"1 R: k w. .•11 • •: we. J'. 11.i! /~:r invasion. The Santa Barbara Pre idio \\"a both ·11,,, " .:. pr 111,ed by ., .;,. •.; B.ir .· .: T • ·, r H, 1 •, l'rtsanHJc>tl rtl r.11; 1 T 1:1r uitl, 1'1· _'\.U' ll 11 Hirk \_ ,, .. military headquarters and government.11 center of J11.m B.:ur· :.1 d .·1'1.::.1 .\.'.11P11JI Hu.iric7;.ul the entire region extending from the ourhern r it mt.l B.1rli.1r'1 ·1n1 r ,;,r H1sl1..lri~ Pn-sfn'o.ltlt.lll . "BTH/> ui.1rb Ctl prt1It.:t, frt.. 'n'l, rt:_h1 rc, rt•(tlll.tnta . •mJ l1Il1.TJlft/ /1ii1tm'" :>lltS Ill ~ltli, J &1rl.,,1r.1 (_:'tlftlll}~ limits of present day San Luis Obi ~ p o Counry llith tilt /ulr t?ft't.lt!Imurn~ t'drk,Wt>u prt';\!r.mJS Lmd t'.xlul•ll:-, SBrITIP .'ITH't'i- r\.1 to and including the Pueblo of Lo Angeles. tlh1..lllr.J.l!t' ft1mmrn111r im\l/roemcw lmd_t;1s1t·r ,m .1pprtd.11r,mj~1r l\..m1.1 B.zrb.ir.1 C .. 111myS dhtmd tu~u,rr Li..1r11 mt'ff .u 1iil'w>l>1/ip.,1r 1• The Santa Barbara Trust for Hi roric Pre cffacion "1111> p11/>/1<.1t1<111 tm< m.i.ie /'<'SS1blr 111 J"n b) rhc Dqwrmmr "'. rl1t /nrro,,r. operates El Presidio de Santa Barbara State _\.-.1tw11.1/ Hzrk .._ n'1it' (~h.1llt·1~!Jc Cc,s.1 .._ ~h.m· Pr .. 'Xr.m1. 111t 1·uir'.5 ,m,f ,wu.libz,ms u.111t,1111cd 111 r/n$ dcl(Wlltlll ,m· tlto~· q(chc ,1m/i,1n; ,md :-'11..111/d lll't llt. mlt'TJ'Ttlt,f Historic Park, Santa Barbara· l <' th century 1is rrpn·srutiu.~ tlzt' t1pmw11s t1r p,1/wt·s 1..ftht' i ·.. · (;,wtrmm111. .\/rum.m t~f birthplace, under a unique agreement \\·ith 1r,1dt' 1hm1es M comm ercwi products does 1101 rn11stllllft' rliur 1.111forsnnt111 California State Parks. by rli e l ·. S. Cm•cr11111eut. Cirfiente ,\iouljtafa.. Carrizo Plain National Monument SAN LUIS OBISPO \ Bate> ( 'him11ey Canyon <;an.inn '""'-...... ,., .. Peak Sali<;fntr_\· Mountain Canyon I Pisino • State Beach Guada lqpe-Nipomo Du nes: National \J , m~G nda Wi ldli!e Refuge .\lvm_it:~iu "All this road as far as th e ca111p site r11m along th e sea beach, a/111ost to1.1chi11g the waves. The people o{ Guadal upe Niporno Tepusquct th e expeditio11 who had never see11 the sea found Dunes ~UA D A L UPE Canyon Los Padres many things to marvel at." Preserve Forest National Forest Guadalupe ~ Fr. Pedro Font, February 24, 1776 Dunes County Park ~, .Hadu!ce California Coastal (. l Rincon County · if f- .,._ "+-..,. Goleta Beach Beach Park County Park Jalarna Beach -> Bfack Channel Islands County Park <~unon National Park ~ Public Access Poin t )( . ( .'nn<.'crtum ~ • Historic Trail Corridor Mission 0 Presidio I Recreational Trails Expedition Campsite 1- +-+- Amtrak Coast Starlight Urban 10 ~.1 ir p !wed by GilM·n! - Auto Route Interpretive Site -- Highways Protected Areas E====3::====:::::J Miles I '"""" . ''""J '~''' sor1.·.. "" Al l locations are approximate. This map is not intended for navigation or to indicate legally established property boundaries. 0 The Ju.111 lbutista de AllZa N ational The historic corridor through Santa Bar the route on fo ot .ilo11 g the Califrm1i a pla1111i11 g the 197(> bicentennial re-en daily from Los Angeles.Access to several Historic TrJil wJs established by an bara County trave1-s ·beaches, urban areas, Coastal Tr,1il, \vfo ·h follows the Anza actment of the Anza Expedition. miles of the otherwise restricted areas is Trail through those sections accessible to available at Ocean Beach County Park act of Congress in 1990 as part of the rocky coastline, and wind-swept dunes. Unfortunately, most sections of the the public. Hikers, cyclists, pedestrians, and Jalama Beach County Park. Since National Trails System. The 1,200-mile Visitors may drive the automobile route historic trail corridor from Gaviota and even equestrians enjoy the Ohern much of the historic trail runs along the trail in the U.S. begins in Nogales, AZ along the U.S. Highway 101 and California State Beach to the northern limit of Trail, which connects UC Santa Barbara county's beaches, some sections are only and ends in San Francisco, CA. The trail Highway 1. Bicyclists take advantage of VandenbergAir Force Base are inaccessible and Goleta Beach County Park with accessible at low tide. traces the route of the 1775-1776 Anza much of the historic trail coinciding with to the public. A spectacular experience the City of Santa Barbara. George and Expedition as closely as can be deter the Pacific Coast Bike Route through of this stretch of coast may be had from Vivian Ohern were instrumental in mined by historical research. out the county. Hikers can experience Amtrak's Coast Starlight train, running