How Gaviota Pass Shaped the History of Santa Barbara with Mark R. Preston

Name: How Gaviota Pass Shaped the History of Santa Barbara with Mark R. Preston
Start: 2024-11-17T16:00:00-07:00
Location: 304 N Los Carneros Road, Goleta, CA, United States, California 93117

Schedule

Sun Nov 17 2024 at 04:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

304 N Los Carneros Road, Goleta, CA, United States, California 93117 | Goleta, CA

The Goleta Valley Historical Society is pleased to present “How Gaviota Pass Shaped the History of Santa Barbara" with author Mark R. Preston! The talk is free for GVHS members and a suggested donation of $5 for non-members. RSVP is required: https://bit.ly/gaviotapass
The Gaviota Pass had an outsized impact on the history of Goleta and Santa Barbara. A geographical passage through the Santa Ynez Mountains on the California coast, this critical point of transit was not developed or improved by Spain or Mexico. The physical constraints of the Santa Ynez Mountains left Santa Barbara undeveloped, and lagging far behind the growth of San Francisco and Los Angeles. When the people of Santa Barbara awakened on January 1, 1870, their infrastructure was equivalent to Virginia in the 1770s. Southern Pacific Railroad ignored its commitment to complete railroad access from Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo and did not complete access from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara until 1887. A train from Los Angeles to San Francisco via Santa Barbara was not completed until the 20th century. Why? Mark R. Preston will weave together the myriad threads of this mystery and you'll leave with all the answers!

Mark R. Preston is a longtime resident of southern Santa Barbara County. He is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, with degrees in Psychology and Anthropology. Mark is
retired and spent 40 years in the technology sector in and around UCSB. His career took him to 15 countries and 30 states. Mark is currently a member of the Santa Barbara Historical Museum
and Goleta Valley Historical Society. He was recently appointed to the City of Goleta Historical Preservation Commission, and is a Santa Barbara Courthouse docent.
Copies of Mark R. Preston's book are available for sale in our Museum Store.