San Luis Obispo County, California

San Luis Obispo County lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Coast range, with Monterey on the north and Santa Barbara on the south. This county embraces 3,578 square miles, and has an estimated population of 20,000, though in 1880 it was given at 9,142. San Luis Obispo is the county seat and business center of the county, the principal towns being San Simeon, Cambria, Avila, Paso Robles, Templeton, Arroyo Grande and San Miguel. Stock-raising, dairying, farming and horticulture are conducted extensively, and the honey product is an important factor in the county's wealth. Port Harford is the principal seaport, though there are five shipping points along the eighty miles of coast. The fertile interior valleys are drained by the Salinas River and its tributaries; the soil is adobe mixed with sandy loam, and irrigation is not needed. Gypsum is found in large quantities, and other minerals are known to exist. The recent extension of the Southern Pacific has given the interior of this county a new impetus, and its population is rapidly increasing. The most valuable sulphur springs in the state are located at Paso Robles, which is celebrated as a great health resort. When the Southern Pacific coast line is completed from Santa Barbara, Paso Robles will be one of the main stopping-places on this tourist line, Santa Barbara and Monterey being the other two. The assessed valuation in 1889 was $15,139,117.

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Source: California State Gazetteer and Business Directory 1890, Volume II, R. L. Polk & Company, 1890.