San Luis Obispo County History Transcribed by Peggy Hooper This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter. All persons donating to this site retain the rights to their own work. Source: A Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura, California by Yda Addis Storke Published in 1891 in Chicago by the Lewis Publishing Co. THE SOIL. The county, owing to the direction and character of the Santa Lucia Range of moun- tains, is naturally divided into two sections, the western and eastern � the coast and inte- rior. Conforming to this division are the two distinctions of soil, elsewhere noted, which make the general character of the eastern and western portions of the county diver- gent. Lying open to the sea, that portion between the Santa Lucia Range and the Pacific enjoys the refreshing coolness of the ocean, has a greater rainfall, and enjoys many advantages peculiar to itself as compared with the eastern portion of the county, while on the other hand the latter enjoys a climate and warmth that must give it some pre- eminent advantages over its western counterpart. Another more obvious and practical distinction is that of the rancho and public lands. San Luis Obispo County has a total area of 2,290,000 acres. Of this 561,073 acres are included in the Spanish grants, leaving 1,728,926 acres of public lands. The grants lie along the coast or on the Salinas River, with the greater number on the coast, thus leaving the interior portion of the county mostly public lands. The grants include much of the rich bottom along the streams, but by no means all of the good land of the county. The thousands of acres of Govern- ment land are among the most fertile of the State. There are in all thirty-five grants in the county, thirteen of the largest of which, aggregating 200,000 acres, have been sub- divided and sold off in smaller lots or are now on the market. So rapid have been the sales of these lands, that of the three or four great ranches placed upon the market in the year 1887, but a comparatively small portion remained unsold. As the market calls for it-, as the increase of taxes and of value render it advantageous, the owners of others of the very best and largest grants will be forced to place them on the market, thus affording opportunity for others to secure homes under San Luis Obispo's genial skies. The Govern- ment land, as already stated, embraces by far the greater portion of the county. Of late, settlers have been flocking in, and the land is being rapidly settled up; still there are thou- sands of acres of the finest kind of rolling land, adapted to mixed farming, stock raising, and more especially fruit-raising; the latter kind of land being the most valuable when lying along the hills or at the foot of the mountains. All of the public land that is open to settlement can be acquired under the pre-emption laws of the United States at $1.25 per acre, and San Luis Obispo County can heartily say to the intending settler, " Come, settle in our midst and enjoy the luxuries, pleasures and beauties of our Cali- fornia home." To the man of means who does not care to undergo the hardships inci- dent to taking up land fresh from the hand of nature, and by his own sturdy labor sur- round himself with all the comforts and luxuries of a home, there are thousands of opportunities to purchase improved farms at almost any price to suit his fancy or funds. If he desires to follow simple farming, as already noted, there are numberless oppor- tunities to secure the fertile ranch lands that are on the market, at from $10 to $50 per acre. For grazing purposes the hills offer ample room for all, at a cost but little in advance of Government prices. Along the coast some of the finest dairying land in the world may yet be had, at from $10 to $14 per acre. Elsewhere, along the bills or in the valleys, can be obtained for fruit-raising, the finest farms in the State, at prices which of course are high, but considering the return on the investment made far exceed the profits of grain or stock raising. Along the creeks or on the alluvial bottoms, is to be found a great deal of improved gardening lands, varying in price from $100 to $500, and the famous bean lands of the county, which, cleared and ready for cultivation, sell sq readily for $300 per acre, but the returns from which make it one of the best invest- ments in the county. The lands now offered for sale are in every particular as good as many of the famous orchards and vineyards of Los Angeles, San Jose and other famous por- tions of tlie State, where land sells at from $300 to $1,000 per acre. But this county, heretofore shut off from outside communication, except by a tedious stage journey of 200 miles or an equally disagreeable sea trip, now offers opportunities at one-tenth of the cost of these sections. Here, as there, may be found every variation of quality and adaptability.