Now I am back with another in the series Places I will never visit,* and again it is from my friend Cheryl.
She and her family live in Orcutt California, and Los Alamos is “another little town just 10 miles south of us”.
I got it confused with that other Los Alamos, known for its atom bomb, which is in New Mexico.
So, with that cleared up here is Cheryl’s story
“In 1839, José Antonio de la Guerra, a son of José de la Guerra y Noriega received the Rancho Los Alamos Mexican land grant.
The hills above Rancho Los Alamos served as a hideout for bandito, Salomon Pico, whose escapades were popularized by the character "Zorro".
During the U.S.'s centennial year of 1876, Thomas Bell along with his nephew John S. Bell, and Dr. James B. Shaw (all from San Francisco), purchased acreage from Rancho Los Alamos and neighboring Rancho La Laguna. Both families allocated a half square mile from each of their new ranches to create the Los
Alamos town site with "Centennial Street" as the central thoroughfare.
The Los Alamos Valley prospered and grew quickly serving as a popular stagecoach stop from 1861–1901.
The Union Hotel opened in 1880 to serve overnight travelers.
The narrow-gauge Pacific Coast Railway also ran to Los Alamos from San Luis Obispo between 1882–1940.
Oil was discovered at the Orcutt field in hills north of Valley in 1901, and in the Purisima Hills south of the valley at the Lompoc Oil Field in 1903, providing more economic prosperity.
The town flagpole at Centennial and Bell Street was dedicated in 1918.
The Chamber of Commerce was active from 1920–32 and instrumental in forming a lighting district, obtaining telephone service, street paving and mail service.
Residents today still pick-up their mail from the Post Office downtown, as no street delivery is available.
Los Alamos, California, is home to the last standing Pacific Coast Railroad Station, and is now also home to various wine tasting rooms, fine dining establishments, and antique stores.”**
And that is it, other than to say thank you to Cheryl who I am hoping l will offer up some more places, which I know I will never get to visit, even though California is on my wish list.
But then so is New England, Ontario and British Columbia, as well as heaps of laces in Europe.
Now given that Cheryl and Steve travelled to lots of places this year, I am confident this will not be the last story.
No pressure then.
Location; California,
Pictures; around Los Alamos, 2021 from the collection of Cheryl Mansfield Heisler
*Places I will never visit ……no. 1 ….. that other California …………Orcutt, https://chorltonhistory.blogspot.com/2021/08/places-i-will-never-visit-no-1-that.html
** Los Alamos, California, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Alamos,_California
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