Santa Barbara County California

Santa Barbara County, Organized in 1850. Bounded north by San Luis Obispo and Kern, east by Ventura, south by the Santa Barbara Channel, and west by the Pacific Ocean. Area on main land three hundred and forty square miles, and with the islands of Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel, adding four hundred, making a total of 3,540 square miles. Assessed valuation of property for 1874, $6,010,309.

County seat, Santa Barbara. Principal towns. Alamo, Carpinteria, Grangeville, Guadalupe, La Gaviota, La Graciosa, La Patera, Las Cruces, Lompoc, Montecito and Santa Ynez.

The resources are chiefly agricultural, including horticulture and grazing, to which may be added important resources in mining for quicksilver, asphaltum and petroleum. Until within a few years past the resources of Santa Barbara, other than pastoral were undeveloped, but a spirit of enterprise has recently advanced every interest, and the country is rapidly increasing in population and wealth. Several of the great ranches formerly devoted solely to grazing, or lying wild and unproductive, have been divided into farms and cultivated with great success.

Mines of quicksilver have been discovered in the mountains, which indicate a wealth previously unsuspected. The topographical features of the country are marked and distinctive. Two ranges of mountains run nearly parallel from west to east, the most northerly being the Sierra San Rafael and the other the .Sierra Santa Ynez, having altitudes of from 4,000 to 6,000 feet, the intermediate country being generally of low hills with but little level land. The Santa Ynez or Iñez, projects into the ocean at Point Concepcion, one of the most noted land marks of the coast, and is regarded as the dividing line between Central and Southern California. At this point the ocean coast turns abruptly eastward, giving this and Ventura County along frontage to the south, while the Santa Ynez range shelters the town portion from the cold sea winds that prevail along the northern coast. The climate throughout the county, excepting a few localities near the sea exposed to the northern winds, is very mild and even, and the region is much favored by those in search of health and pleasant homes. Fruits of all kinds grow to great perfection from the most delicate to the most hardy, and soil and climate offer every facility for every desirable cultivation. Along the coast are numerous landings, though few may be regarded as harbors, and established lines of steamers and sailing vessels render communication convenient and regular.

At present there are no railroads in the county, but the proposition is agitated of constructing one from Santa Barbara to Bakersfield, where it will intersect the San Joaquin Valley branch of the Central Pacific, and thus connect with the speedy transportation system of the world. The distance being only about ninety miles, it would open an outlet of trade for the Tulare basin, and add greatly to the commercial importance of Santa Barbara, the principal port of the county.

Officers: F. J. M. Maguire. County Judge, H. P. Stone, Clerk, Recorder, and Auditor; J. H. Kincaid, District Attorney; J. W. Frost, Treasurer; N. A. Covarrubias, Sheriff and Tax Collector; E. E. Alvord, Assessor; W. A. Norway, Surveyor; J. E. Freeman, Coroner and Public Administrator; J. C. Hamer, Superintendent Public Schools.

California Gazetteer | AHGP California

Source: Pacific Coast Business Directory for 1876-78, Compiled by Henry G. Langley, San Francisco, 1875