The History Of Santa Rosa Island, California
In today’s article we will be delving into the history of Santa Rosa Island, California. Santa Rosa Island is a relatively small island approximately 26 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara, South Central California. It is the second largest island in the Channel Islands Archipelago of California. The island is approximately 83.12 square miles (215.27981 square kilometers) in area.
Despite being so large, the island has a minuscule population of 2 people, making for an extremely low population density of 0.024061597690087 per square mile (0.009290234880828 per square kilometers). The island is well known for its beautiful hiking trails, rolling hills, deep canyons, & mesmerizing coastline. Many tidepools are located along its coastline, which are frequently explored by curious visitors.
The lagoons nearby the island are often used as whale nurseries, & dolphin nurseries for young dolphins. Overall, the oceans surrounding Santa Rosa Island are incredibly biodiverse, housing over 100 endangered animals, & serving as a breeding ground for many more.
Santa Rosa Island has a long & intriguing history, beginning at least 12,000 years ago. The Chumash Native Americans & their ancestors have inhabited the island for at least 12,000 years, as seen in the multiple village sites along the island’s coastline. The oldest fossilized human found in North America was found in one of the Archaeological Sites on the island, & became known as the Arlington Springs Man. The Arlington Springs Man is the fossilized remains of a man or a woman who lived on Santa Rosa Island approximately 13,000 years ago. During this time, Santa Rosa Island was 150 feet lower then it is now, due to glaciation. Santa Rosa Island was at this time connected by land bridges to the other Northern Channel Islands, forming an ancient landmass known as Santa Rosae. At its largest, the Ancient Santa Rosae was approximately 125 kilometers from east to west. When the Pleistocene ended & the glaciers melted, the sea level rapidly rose, submerging Santa Rosae, & creating the modern northern Channel Islands.
In this article, we will be discussing the history of Santa Rosa Island, the Aboriginals of Santa Rosa Island, the most destructive man-caused & natural disasters to affect Santa Rosa Island, & the economy of Santa Rosa Island. With that being said, let us delve into this beautiful isle.
The Documented History Of Santa Rosa Island, California
As A Part Of The Ancient Landmass of Santa Rosae
Santa Rosa Island’s history begins as a part of an ancient landmass known as Santa Rosae. As mentioned in the Introduction, Santa Rosae was a large island off the coast of California that existed up until approximately 10,600 years ago. It was approximately 125 kilometers across from East to West, & largely forested until it began to become submerged. The island had a thriving marine & terrestrial environment, & even had a species of Pygmy Mammoth known as the Channel Islands Mammoth, which was approximately 17% smaller then their mainland counterparts. The Chumash Native Americans inhabited this large landmass, fishing off of its coast, & building small village settlements along it. The natives thrived on the island, & continued to thrive even after it began to become rapidly submerged underwater. At first, the Anacapa Islands split away, with Santa Cruz Island following after. Santa Rosa & San Miguel Island remained one landmass for 300 more years, until finally fragmenting into their modern form.
Before Colonization By The Spanish
Historical Events From 11,000 B.C.
The first evidence of humans inhabiting Santa Rosa begins 13,000 years ago, with the Arlington Springs Man. The Arlington Springs Man are the fossilized human remains of a Chumash individual. It is the oldest human remains found in North America.
Historical Events From The 1500’s
On an expedition to the isle in 1585, it was recorded that there were at least 3 villages along the coast. This was recorded by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. The Chumash Natives used this island as an area for fishing, & built these villages to sustain themselves. The fish & marine animals harvested around the island were often traded between the Island Chumash & the Mainland Chumash as a part of their extensive trade networks. The Chumash referred to the island as “Wi-ma”.
After Becoming A Part Of Mexico
Historical Events From the 1800’s
By the early 1820’s, the remaining Chumash natives were removed or left to the mainland. The island would remain uninhabited for almost 20 years, until the island was given as a land grant to a group of ranchers. In 1838, the island was given to Jose Antonio & Carlos Barrelo Carillo, a set of prominent brothers from Santa Barbara, California. The ownership of the island was officially transferred to them in 1843, however they would sell the island only a month after. The Carillo Brothers sold the island to Carlos’s daughters & their husbands, Alpheus Thompson & John C. Jones.
After Becoming A Part Of California
Historical Events From The 1800’s
Jones & Thompson were prominent otter huntsmen, who engaged in the trading of otter pelts along California’s coast. As a clause of Thompson & Jones’s ownership, they had to actively improve the island, & industrialize it. To fulfill this, in December of 1843 Thompson shipped materials to the island to build a house, which he would build in 1844. The house was located between Skunk Point & East Point, on an area known as Rancho Viejo. The men began to bring livestock over as well, with 270 cattle, 2 rams, 9 horses, & 51 ewes. Thompson finally moved onto the island, bringing his employees with him. Numerous trails were developed, & much more livestock was brought over from the mainland. Another house with an attached pen was built in 1855, near Becher’s Bay. This new house provided a much more stable area for agricultural use, & for importing as well as exporting goods.
In 1859, T. Wallace More purchased Jones’s share in the island. Unfortunately, the partnership between More & Thompson fell sour as a result of litigation, & combined with a drought on the island, resulted in the majority of the livestock being removed from the island by 1859. More & his brothers began systematically buying out Thompson’s share in the island, until they acquired the last shares in 1870. Due to an ongoing drought in California, herding cattle wasn’t exactly profitable, so the More Brothers turned to sheep instead. The brothers developed a large sheep ranch on the island, & acquired between 40,000 & 80,000 sheep to send to the island. They built large pens with redwood trees, & began planting crops as sheep feed. They abandoned the pens at East Point, & focused solely on the pens at Becher’s Bay.
By 1873, a wharf, multiple houses, & a 2-story barn were constructed at the Becher’s Bay Ranch Site. Unfortunately Tragedy soon struck, in the form of another extreme drought that lasted from 1876 to 1878. More had to slaughter 25,000 sheep, however he installed a boiler in one of the barns to render their corpses. At the end of the slaughters, there were between 15,000 & 20,000 sheep remaining on the isle.
In 1881, one of the More Brothers, A. P. More, purchased all the shares in the island. He managed to recover the sheep population to an astounding 80,000 head by 1883. The farming of the sheep was very efficient, with an experienced sheerer being able to sheer up to 100 fleeces each day. A.P More unfortunately passed away in 1893, & the ensuing litigation led to More’s heirs selling shares to Vail & Vickers Co.
Historical Events From The 1900’s
By 1902, Vail & Vickers Co. owned the entire island. Walter J. Vail & J. V. Vickers were prominent cattlemen from Arizona, who at the beginning of the 20th century purchased Santa Rosa Island. They decided to advance their operations in Southern California, & thought the island would be an ideal place to continue.
After purchasing the entire island, they built a small schoolhouse for the employees’ children, & repaired all pens, & old structures. Beginning in the 1910’s, Vail would import deer & elk for sport hunting. Due to the start of World War 2, the Vaquero, the primary boat used to transfer cattle between the island & the mainland, was confiscated for military use. A second boat, the Vaquero 2, was soon commissioned, & continued to be used until operations ceased. The brothers would farm cattle on the island until 1998, when the last of their cattle was transferred off the island. Depending on the season & conditions, the island would have between 3,000 & 7,000 cattle at any given time until the operations ended.
After the last of the cattle were transferred out, Vail & Vickers purchased a 25-year reservation for a tract of 7 acres near Becher’s Bay. This reservation expired in 2011, when the ownership of the island was officially transferred over to the National Park Service. Modernly, the island is the site of eco-tourism, & many serene campgrounds.
The Aboriginals Of Santa Rosa Island, California
The Chumash Indigenous Peoples
The Chumash are a group of Native Americans who historically inhabited the areas from Malibu all the way to Paso Robles & Morro Bay. They also inhabited 3 of the channel islands, those being Santa Rosa Island, Santa Cruz Island, & Santa Miguel Island. They were most concentrated in the Santa Barbara Channel region. At their peak, their population reached approximately 25,000.
They spoke the Chumashan languages, of which there are 3 predominant ones. There are North Chumash, Central Chumash, & Island Chumash. The Island Chumash was primarily spoken by those on Santa Rosa Island, Santa Cruz Island, & Santa Miguel Island. These languages, are unfortunately classified as extinct & have been since the early 1960’s.
Their diets primarily consisted of seafood such as the black abalone, pacific littleneck clam, bent-nosed clam, Olympia oysters, angular unicorn snails, butternut clam & red abalone. Individuals would catch these animals by spear fishing, or by using nets. For catching certain species, a primitive kind of fishing rod was popular. Historically acorns were found commonly in their diets. in the form of being ground up & cooked in a soup. They would also feast on the fruits of the laurel sumac tree.
They had very adept maritime technologies, in the form of dug-out canoes, which no doubt helped them in their expansion to the various Channel Islands. In addition to increasing their land, it also helped them make trade with other villages & populations of natives. At their peak, they had approximately 150 independent villages, the largest being located in Santa Barbara. The smaller villages tended to be located in areas that did not have immediate access to a spring, lake, or ocean. Each village had access to the majority of the resources southwest California has to offer, because they all traded with each other.
In addition to being inventive with their hunting techniques, they were also extremely successful at basket weaving. They would weave baskets for various purposes such as holding food, or using them to catch animals. To ornately decorate the baskets, they would occasionally add clay beads. These clay beads could also be used for jewelry or other decorative items. They are not on record to have attacked any other neighbouring natives.
In Chumash villages each family had their own house, & each village would have a sweat-house. A sweat-house is a house is a place for cleansing. Each individual village would have something similar to a playground for the children. This playground would have a flat outdoor area used to play games such as Payas, Peon, & Shinny. There would also be other areas in the village used for dancing, as dance was very important in Chumash culture.
Their ceremonial dance grounds would have a high fence of tule mats, as tule mats serve as a nice windbreak. Inside of the sacred dance ground, was a semi-circular area in which shamans & priests would perform religious rituals. Little is known about their religion, however they were most certainly polytheistic. They were also skilled at medicine, & using the local herbs & plants to produce medical treatments.
The Most Destructive Man-Caused & Natural Disasters To Affect Santa Rosa Island, California
There are not many disasters recorded to have affected Santa Rosa Island negatively enough to be reported on.
The Economic State Of Santa Rosa Island
Santa Rosa Island does not have much of an economy on its own, as it doesn’t have very much to offer outside of eco-tourism. The entire island only has 2 year round residents, & almost businesses outside of the few campgrounds. The island sees approximately 20,000 visitors each year, the majority of which are domestic tourists. Overall, Santa Rosa Island does not have a very large economic impact on California, or much of its own economy.
Directories / Credits
Citation No. 1: “California’s Atlantis: The Lost Superisland of Santa Rosae”, Written By Nathan Masters, & Published on August 7th, 2018. Published by the Public Broadcasting Service of Southern California. Retrieval Date: July 10th, 2024.
Citation No. 2: “Santarosae”, Written by Jon Erlandson, & Published on February 5th, 2023. Published by Islapedia. Retrieval Date: July 10th, 2024.
Citation No. 3: “Arlington Man”, Written by Dr. John R. Johnson, & Published on June 7th, 2016. Published by the National Park Service. Retrieval Date: July 10th, 2024.
Citation No. 4: “Santa Rosa Island History & Culture”, Written by Unknown, & Published on April 9th, 2024. Published by the National Park Service. Retrieval Date: July 10th, 2024.
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