Lucia
Unincorporated community
View of Lucia Lodge
View of Lucia Lodge
Lucia is located in California
Lucia
Lucia
Location in California
Lucia is located in the United States
Lucia
Lucia
Lucia (the United States)
Coordinates: 36°1′14″N 121°33′4″W / 36.02056°N 121.55111°W / 36.02056; -121.55111
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountyMonterey County
Elevation
[1]
354 ft (108 m)

Lucia is a hamlet located 22 miles (35 km) south of Big Sur Village and 38 miles (61 km) north of Hearst Castle.[2][3][4] The area is sparsely settled[3]

The sole business active today is the Lucia Lodge, one of a very few along the south coast of Big Sur to offer accommodations to travelers.[2][5][6] Lucia is miles away from any other business.[6] Due to the remote location, gas prices are typically high.[7] A small store and restaurant attached to the Lodge were destroyed by a fire in August 2021.[2][7][8][9][6]

Wilber Judson Harlan filed the first patent for land in the area in 1885. His family has continually resided in the location and the fifth generation still operates the Lucia Lodge alongside the Big Sur Coast Highway.

History

Wedding picture of Wilbur Judson Harlan and Ada Amanda Dani

Indigenous people

The land may have first been occupied the Salinan Playano subtribe who are believed to have lived as far north as Slates Hot Springs, easterly over the Santa Lucia Mountains and Junipero Serra Peak, inland towards Soledad and as far south as what is now San Simeon. The shell middens left behind indicate that indigenous people lived in the area in numbers along the coast. Their main diet during the summer consisted of fish and shell fish, evidenced by the fine particles of shell present in the soil for a depth of several feet in areas where the Indians camped. The Salinan named the peak Pimkolam.[10][11][12] The tribe's name is taken from the Salinas River, as the tribe did not appear to have a name for themselves.[13][14]

First homesteader

Wilber Judson Harlan was born on December 14, 1860, in Rushville, Rush, Indiana.[15] His father died when he was 21, and Wilber moved to Santa Cruz, California where his half-sister Hester Ann lived with her husband C. J. Todd. He worked in a local nursery and on a threshing machine crew in the Salinas Valley. In 1885, Harlan homesteaded in Big Sur and filed his claim of 167 acres (68 ha) in the San Francisco Land Office.[15][16][17]

Wilber Harlan grew up on a ranch owned by his parents George and Esther Harlan on Lopez Point, a mile north of Lucia. His future wife first arrived in the Big Sur area from San Jose in 1913 to become a school teacher at the Redwood School. George volunteered to meet the new teacher at the King City rail road station in the Salinas Valley. He brought her to the coast on a two-day horseback trip that included an overnight stay in Wagon Caves# in the upper San Antonio River valley.[18] They married and settled on the land.[15][16]

When Esther was ready to give birth, she left the coastal family ranch and visited her mother in Campbell, California until the baby was born. She returned south a week after her son Stan's birth. On the final leg of the trip, over the narrow mountain trails, he was placed in a five-gallon kerosene can, which had one side cut out and lined with blankets, then placed and tied on the pack saddle of George's favorite mule, Big Jack. [19]

The Harlan home in Lucia, California was also the post office and a branch of county library. The home was built in 1901 and burned on December 12, 1926.

Dani family

Elizabeth and Gabriel Dani were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who had been married in Utah in 1847.[20] They had three children in Utah including Ada born in Parowan, Beaver County on January 13, 1867. The family moved to Sutter's Mill, California, where Gabriel worked in the mines. They then took a ship to Wilmington in southern California. A son Gabriel was born there in 1869. In 1871 they moved north again to San Juan Bautista where they had two more sons.

Dani Family. (L-R) daughter Mary Elizabeth, father Gabriel, daughter Lucia, and mother Elizabeth

In 1875, the Dani family homesteaded on the coast on a bench of level land about 1,000 feet (300 m) above the sea surrounded on three sides by virgin forests of redwood, tanbark oak and bay laurel.[21] The Harlan family's land bordered theirs to the south. They built a home and the first school house along the coast. Four more children were born there from 1878 to 1885.[22] They raised cattle and cultivated orchards of citrus fruit as well as apples, pears, peaches, plums and apricots. While earning cash to get through the winter, Gabriel worked on a ranch in the Salinas Valley. He lost his left arm in an accident on a threshing machine.[23]

Ada Amanda Dani married her neighbor Wilbur Harlan on July 7, 1889. They had 11 children. On March 8, 1900, the post office was opened in the home of Elizabeth and Gabriel Dani.[24] Ada's sister Violet Lucia Dani (1878-1947) was the first postmaster and the post office was named for her, which became the place name for the settlement.[23] While Lucia was postmaster, it served about 65 local residents.[24]

Elizabeth and Gabriel remained on the coast until 1905 when they moved to San Lucas where Gabriel died on June 2, 1908.[23] After his death, his widow Barbara and their daughter Lucia moved to Monterey. They lived there until Barbara died in 1926. Their daughter Lucia never married.[23]

In 1906, Ada became the second postmaster. She was succeeded by her daughter Lulu May Harlan who served until. George Harlan rode his horse Trixie to carry mail from Jolon to Lucia Post Office from 1922 to 1934.[24] Ada's brother Isiah "Ty" Dani ran the ranch after their parents moved to King City in 1905. He sold the land to Gordon Moore around 1925.[21]

The Harlan house burned down on December 12, 1926.[24] The post office was closed in 1932.[24] Soon after, the Dani house burned down.[24] The Benedictine Order of Camaldolese monks acquired the Lucia Ranch property in 1958.[24] The hermitage became known as the Immaculate Heart Hermitage.[24]

The Lucia Lodge is situated below the old homestead overlooking the sea.

Remote region

Due to the difficult terrain and lack of access, settlement of the Big Sur region was primarily concentrated in the north near the Big Sur River and in the south near Lucia. About two or three dozen individual homesteads dotted a 25 miles (40 km) stretch of coast between the two in the 1890s. The California coast south of Posts and north of San Simeon remained one of the most remote regions in the state, rivaling at the time nearly any other region in the United States for its difficult access.[25]

The northern and southern regions of the coast were isolated from one another. The northern residents used a rough dirt road to transport cattle and products to and from Monterey, but counted on a steamship to deliver goods once a year that could not be transported on a wagon. The families on the south coast, including the Harlans, Danis, Gamboas, and Lopezes, used a foot trail to herd cattle, pigs, goats, and even turkeys to market several times a year. The trail climbed 4,621 feet (1,408 m) over the steep Santa Lucia Mountain Range to near Cone Peak and then followed what is today known as the Carrizo Trail. From Cone Peak the trail ran easterly along a ridge until it finally descended to Wagon Caves on the north fork of the San Antonio River.

Before the completion of the coast highway, Wagon Cave was used as a resting point and overnight camp site for those traveling to and from the coast. Travelers on horseback switched to wagons stored there for the purpose of transporting goods to market and provisions home. From the Caves there was a 18 miles (29 km) wagon road to Jolon. In 1878, Jolon had two grocers, a butcher, a blacksmith, a harness maker, a general merchandise store, post office, and Wells Fargo station.[26] When the Southern Pacific Railroad was extended in 1886 to Soledad, travelers could then ride their wagons or a stage 37 miles (60 km) north. The families brought back supplies necessary to sustain their remote lives.[27][26]

William Randolph Hearst developed an interest in acquiring more land to add to the ranch his father George Hearst had purchased, but Harlen refused to sell.[28]

Lucia Lodge

The lodge was built in the 1930s by Forest Delamater who leased the land from Wilber Harlan.[29] In 1936, the Lucia Post Office reopened at the newly constructed Lucia Lodge but subsequently closed again in 1938.[24] In 1937, the Lucia store opened coinciding with the opening of Big Sur Coast Highway.[6] Lucia also had a gas station as well.[30]

Delamater operated the lodge until his death. His wife continued until Lulu Harlan and her husband Marion took over in 1964. In 1970, their nephew John became manager for the next decade, and then his sons Kenneth and Keith took over. Another nephew, Kenneth James, currently runs the lodge. The lodge was built with local redwood lumber.

The Lucia Lodge consists of ten cabins situated on a 300-foot cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.[2][5] The fifth generation Harlan descendants still operate the cabins.[29][6] The Honeymoon Cabin (Unit 10) has exceptionally good views.[7] The rooms do not have televisions or telephones.[2][29] It is rumored that the lodge is haunted.[31] Lucia Lodge included a general store and a restaurant facing the ocean that served lunch and dinner year round and breakfast only in the summer.[7][29] Both were heavily damaged by a fire in August 2021. The cabins located 100 yards north of the restaurant were not damaged.[8][9]

In 2019, the Netflix series Ratched, a prequel to One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, was filmed on site at the lodge.[9] The lodge saw a spike in bookings following the release of the series.[31]

References

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lucia, California
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Brown, A. (2004). Writers' and Artists' Hideouts: Great Getaways for Seducing the Muse. Linden Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-61035-116-4. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  3. 1 2 Jensen, J. (2018). Road Trip USA Pacific Coast Highway. Road Trip USA. Avalon Publishing. p. 151. ISBN 978-1-64049-383-4. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  4. ↑ Brown, A.M. (2009). Monterey and Carmel: Including Santa Cruz and Big Sur. Moon Handbooks Series. Avalon Publishing. p. 166. ISBN 978-1-56691-995-1. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  5. 1 2 Heid, A.E. (2013). Hiking and Backpacking Big Sur: A Complete Guide to the Trails of Big Sur, Ventana Wilderness, and Silver Peak Wilderness. Wilderness Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-89997-727-0. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Lucia Lodge, Big Sur, California". Lucia Lodge. 2021-08-10. Archived from the original on 2021-11-30. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Thornton, S. (2016). Moon Monterey & Carmel: Including Santa Cruz & Big Sur. Moon Handbooks. Avalon Publishing. p. 162. ISBN 978-1-63121-244-4. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  8. 1 2 "Fire destroys restaurant at the historic Lucia Lodge in Big Sur". Monterey County Weekly. 2021-08-11. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  9. 1 2 3 "Fire burns through restaurant, store at historic Lucia Lodge on southern Big Sur Coast". The Mercury News (in Kinyarwanda). 2021-08-18. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  10. ↑ Jewell, Jennifer (October 12, 2018). "Obi Kaufmann & The California Field Atlas; Botanical Artistry Of October, Part 2". Cultivating Place (Podcast). North State Public Radio. Retrieved February 13, 2019 – via SoundCloud.
  11. ↑ Kaufmann, Obi (2017a). The California Field Atlas. Heyday Books. ISBN 978-1-59714-402-5.
  12. ↑ "Mansfields Were Pacific Valley Pioneers | Plaskett.family". plaskett.family. Archived from the original on 2023-03-29. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  13. ↑ "Wagon Cave". Passport in Time. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  14. ↑ Mason, J. Alden. "The Ethnology of the Salinan Indians }year=1856" (PDF).
  15. 1 2 3 Coventry, K. (2002). Monterey Peninsula: The Golden Age. Images of America. Arcadia. p. 122. ISBN 978-0-7385-2080-3. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  16. 1 2 To Designate the Big Sur National Scenic Area and Other Miscellaneous Bills: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Reserved Water, and Resource Conservation of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-ninth Congress, Second Session, on S. 767 ... S. 2159 ... H.J. Res. 666 ... July 31, 1986. S. hrg. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1987. p. 136. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Big Sur Pioneer Harlans". Harlan Record. Harlan Family Association. Fall 2012 (41): 5.
  18. ↑ Schmalz, David. "Stan Harlan". Monterey County Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  19. ↑ Harlan, Stanley (2018). My Mom and Dad On The Coast South of Big Sur: A Historical Recollection of the Big Sur Area Experienced Through the Toils And Labor of the Harlan Family. San Bernardino, CA: Stanley Harlan. ISBN 978-1729074466.
  20. ↑ Cutler, James L.; Daniels, William M., eds. (6 March 2019). "Early Church Information File, 1830-1900". Utah: Family History Department, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City.
  21. 1 2 Plaskett, Mabel. "Dani Family History Is Told | Plaskett.family". plaskett.family. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  22. ↑ History of Coast Schools Part 1
  23. 1 2 3 4 Plaskett, Mabel. "Dani Family History Is Told | Plaskett.family". plaskett.family. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Norman, J.; Society, B.S.H. (2004). Big Sur. Images of America (in German). Arcadia. p. 108. ISBN 978-0-7385-2913-4. Archived from the original on 2022-04-02. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  25. ↑ JRP Historical Consulting Services (November 2001). "Big Sur Highway Management Plan" (PDF). Corridor Intrinsic Qualities Inventory Historic Qualities Summary Report. CalTrans. p. 38. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 5, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2009.
  26. 1 2 "Monterey County Historical Society, Local History Pages--Overview of Post-Hispanic Monterey County History". www.mchsmuseum.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  27. ↑ "Trip Suggestions For The Big Sur Backcountry". www.ventanawild.org. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  28. ↑ Woolfenden, John (1981). Big Sur: A Battle for the Wilderness 1869–1981. Pacific Grove, California: The Boxwood Press. p. 72.
  29. 1 2 3 4 Steakley, D. (2011). Photographing Big Sur: Where to Find Perfect Shots and How to Take Them. The Photographer's Guide. Countryman Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-1-58157-941-3. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
  30. ↑ Woolfenden, J. (1981). Big Sur: A Battle for the Wilderness, 1869-1981. Boxwood Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-910286-87-9. Archived from the original on 2021-11-22. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  31. 1 2 Coleman, Mary (2020-10-15). "Lucia Lodge seeing spike in business following release of 'Ratched' – KION546". KION546. Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-21.
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Additional reading

  • Harlan, Stanley, My Mom and Dad on the south coast of Big Sur 2018 ISBN 9781729077528
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