If you’ve ever gone to the Santa Barbara Humane Society, or just driven past it, you have probably seen this historic old farmhouse sitting proudly at the front of the property. It’s down near the end of Overpass Road, on what was once the Beck walnut farm. Luckily, it is […]
Not long ago, we did a story called Saviors of Goleta History. The Main-Begg Farmhouse project is a perfect example of what we were talking about. A group of forward-thinking locals are working to restore and preserve a beautiful example of an early Goleta farmhouse built in 1911. The Main-Begg […]
It can be said that Nicolas Den is one of the most important people in the history of Goleta. He landed here by chance and never left. Over the course of his life, he changed Goleta and Santa Barbara for the better. It’s remarkable there isn’t a street, or anything […]
The Goleta slough as we know it today is a narrow, semi stagnant waterway that winds through the large marsh beside the airport. Not much to look at really, but believe it or not it was once a large body of water that was used as a port of call […]
Fairview Avenue is one of Goleta’s main thoroughfares today. But who knew it’s also one of the oldest routes in Goleta? It was first laid out way back in 1842, as the eastern boundary of Nicolas Den’s Dos Pueblos land grant. Although it wasn’t actually a road quite yet, this […]
What the heck is a Goleta? Short answer: It’s a schooner. But why is our town named after a schooner? There are a few schools of thought on that question. One thing’s for sure, a lot of schooners were in and around the slough throughout the years. In Spanish times, […]
“Every part of all this soil is sacred to my people. Every hillside, every valley… has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished.” (Chief Seattle) Driving north on Highway 101 between Turnpike Avenue and Patterson Avenue, there’s a small and simple sign on the side of the […]
This distinguished looking building with its majestic Spanish architecture sits in the heart of Old Town Goleta. A front park with a gazebo, beautiful trees and a winding brick path give it the feel of a town square. Known today as the Goleta Community Center, every local knows this as the hub […]
To most Goleta folks, this is a picture of the now closed Sizzler restaurant. Big deal, right? But nestled in the clutches of this empty restaurant is a centuries old sycamore tree that has witnessed the change of Goleta from bean fields and dairy farms to concrete and traffic jams. […]
Tuckers Grove. One of Santa Barbara and Goleta’s favorite parks for parties, picnics and club gatherings. Every local knows it well and maybe we even take it a little for granted. But it could have been just another neighborhood if not for some proactive citizens that got up and took […]
This is Daniel Hill. Born in 1797, he was just another farm boy in Boston, Massachusetts. But by the time he was a teenager, he had been lured to the sea and by the time he was 25, he was first mate on a ship traveling around the world. This eager […]