History of the Santa Cruz Island Grant

Abstract

The Santa Barbara Channel Islands consist of four islands, Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel. In the order in which they are named, they lie in a line from east to west parallel to the coast line from Point Magu to Point Conception, and are separated from the mainland by the Santa Barbara Channel. The channel was so named by the Vizcaino expedition, which entered it on Saint Barbara's day, 1602. The recently reported purchase of Santa Cruz Island, the largest one of the group, from the owners, the Caire family, or the Santa Cruz Island Company, by Edmund L. Stanton of Los Angeles, for a consideration of something like $i,ooo,ooo, has attracted the attention of persons interested in the history and in the possibilities for development of these large land areas separated from the coast. Santa Cruz Island is twenty miles long, an average of four miles wide and has a shoreline of not less than fifty-three miles. On the north side near the middle shore, there is a deep curve forming a roadstead called Prisoners' Harbor since 1829, when the citizens of Santa Barbara sent some thirty criminals to Santa Cruz to rid themselves of the worst of a group of convicts imposed upon them by the Mexican government. This harbor is located at the opening of a valley where wood and water may be obtained. Anchorage is possible here, but there is no protection from the heavy swells setting in with a northwester. The island is about 1700 feet high, with its southern slope irregular, barren, and destitute of water. The east point of the island is twenty-four miles from Santa Barbara, the west