Old Coast Road (Big Sur)
It was initially a trail created by Rumsen and Esselen Native Americans to travel along the coast in present-day Monterey County, California.
Soon after the Spanish arrived, Governor Teodoro Gonzalez granted land that included portions of the trail as Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito to Marcelino Escobar in 1835.
[5] In 1920, the 26 mi (42 km) trip from Carmel in a light spring wagon pulled by two horses could be completed in about 11 hours.
On 14 September 1786, the two ships of explorer Jean La Pérouse expedition visited Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo.
"[8] Governor Juan Alvarado granted Rancho San José y Sur Chiquito comprising two square leagues of land in 1839 to Marcelino Escobar, Alcalde (or mayor) of Monterey.
It was named for two bodies of water: San José Creek near Point Lobos and El Río Chiquito del Sur.
[9] Two of Escobar's sons, Juan and Agustin, obtained possession of the rancho shortly afterward, and sold it on August 26, 1841, to Doňa Maria Josefa de Abrego for about three cents an acre.
She later deeded the land to a group of about 10 Mexican soldiers at no cost, perhaps in payment of a gambling debt incurred by her husband.
[12] Castro improved on the existing primitive trail from Monterey to Palo Colorado Canyon as early as 1853, when he filed a map documenting the boundaries.
[14] In 1834, Mexican Governor José Figueroa granted Rancho El Sur comprising two square leagues of land (8,949.06-acre (36.22 km2)) to Juan Bautista Alvarado.
Without a road, he resorted to using a tram, landing chute, and hoist to transfer the goods to ships anchored slightly offshore.
Big Sur residents grew produce locally and raised cattle for markets in Monterey and the Salinas Valley.
At Bixby Creek, the road was necessarily built 11 miles (18 km) inland to circumvent the deep canyon.
[4]: 4–2, 3 In 1920, the 26 mi (42 km) trip from Carmel in a light spring wagon pulled by two horses could be completed in about 11 hours.
[27] Due to the steep and narrow road, even during the summer Coast residents would receive supplies via boat from Monterey or San Francisco.
The ranch buildings consist of old sheds and tumble-down adobes peopled with geese, chickens, hogs, calves, and Mexicans of all ages and conditions.In 1900, the county improved the road south to the forks of the Little Sur River.
They finally began charging guests in 1910, naming it Pfeiffer's Ranch Resort, and it became one of the earliest places to stay.
In 1905, the Idlewild resort and campground on the Little Sur River advertised that visitors could take the 6 a.m. stage from the Everett House in Monterey on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
[Abelardo Enos] Cooper "motored down to Mrs. Martha M. Cooper ranch at Sur, leaving Monterey at 12 midnight and arriving there at 2 a.m."[31] J. Smeaton Chase, who traveled on horseback up the coast in 1911, reported that a stage coach carried passengers from Posts (then named Arbolado) to Monterey on alternate days.
[32] But the road was still very rough and most goods including cheese produced on the Cooper Ranch were shipped by boat to Monterey.
[26] In July 1937, the California Highways and Public Works department described the journey prior to the construction of the newly opened road.
"There was a narrow, winding, steep road from Carmel south ... approximately 35 miles to the Big Sur River.
"[34][35] A paved 37 miles (60 km) section of the road two-lane highway from Carmel River in the north to Anderson Canyon south of McWay Falls was opened in December 1932.
[23]: 357 Earthquake faults can be difficult to identify in Big Sur because of overlying rock formations, landslide deposits, and vegetation.
The same fault revealed by crushed limestone fragments also traverses the Old Coast Road just 1.5 miles (2.4 km) northeast of the entrance to Andrew Molera State Park.
Prior to the construction of Highway 1, the southern region of Monterey County coast was isolated from the few settlements in the north by the steep and rugged terrain.
[23] During the 18th century, the Slates Trail[46] began at the Old Post Ranch and climbed inland to the crest of the coastal ridge.
[47]: 38 [48] The southern homesteaders were more closely tied to the people in the interior San Antonio Valley, including Jolon and Lockwood, than to the coastal communities in the vicinity of the Big Sur River, who were connected with Monterey to the north.
[49] The ride from Posts in the north to San Carpóforo Canyon at the southern end of Big Sur was about 60 miles (97 km) in a direct line, but about three times that by horseback.
Twenty-six private property owners granted the US Forest Service and specified permitted contactors a right-of-way and easement for vehicular access.
