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The Telephone Station

Near the corner of Patterson and Hollister Avenue sits this quaint little building. With ornate window designs, fresh paint and a neat red tile roof, it resembles a proud senior citizen, all decked out in her Sunday Best. A well kept remnant from a simpler time that has never stopped […]

The Goleta Slough

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 […]

Stagecoaches on Turnpike

We all know and use Turnpike Road, but have you thought about the name? If you Google turnpike it says “an expressway, especially one on which a toll is charged“. Well our Turnpike isn’t really an expressway, and there’s no charge…so…why that name? Blame it on the stagecoach! Back in […]

Barnsdall Models

Everybody knows and loves this beautiful old building. We have for decades. And we are all waiting patiently for the city to save it. Over the years, countless artists have made their renditions of the little gas station with world class architecture. But recently, a viewer told us they had […]

Ellwood Gas Station

If you’re driving past Sandpiper Golf course on Hollister Avenue, you can’t help but notice this distinguished looking building, standing proud amongst the weeds. An almost forgotten landmark in Goleta, the Barnsdall-Rio Grande gas station is a reminder of a simpler time. Located beside what was once a vast oil […]

Shoestring Annexation

Ever wonder why the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is smack dab in the middle of Goleta? It’s kind of an unusual situation. Look at a map and you’ll see the airport is surrounded by Goleta, but Santa Barbara is connected to the airport via a thin strip of ocean that […]

Goleta’s P.O.W Camp

If you’re driving on the 101, just south of El Capitan, look towards the ocean and you may see this old wooden structure. Believe it or not, it is the remains of a water tower from a prisoner of war camp! Most folks have no idea, but Goleta had Nazi […]

Goleta School Kids 1925

  Goleta native and history aficionado, Judy Ensign, recently let me borrow this great photo of Goleta school kids from 1925. They are standing in front of the Goleta School, not to be confused with the Goleta Union School on Hollister Ave. This beautiful school was built in 1911 and located at […]

Who was El Capitan?

Everybody loves El Capitan State Beach, a jewel on the Gaviota Coast. But why is it called the Captain? Who exactly was the Captain? El Capitan was Don Jose Francisco Ortega. He was the first person of European descent to set foot on Goleta soil and he played a big role […]

The Kelloggs

Kellogg Avenue is one of Goleta’s main roads. But who was Kellogg? Well, the Kelloggs were a successful family and they did a lot for the Goleta Valley and Santa Barbara. It all started with this guy. This sturdy young man is Florentine Erwin Kellogg and he was an American pioneer. […]

What’s A Goleta?

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, […]

Architectural Influence

   The historic Ellwood gas station was meant to make a statement. In the late 1920’s the Barnsdall Rio Grande oil company wanted to build a filling station that was second to none. They interviewed many of the most prestigious architectural firms and eventually settled on Morgan, Walls and Clement out […]

Saving the Barnsdall Gas Station

“The only thing more destructive to historical landmarks than a bulldozer is procrastination on the part of preservationists.” Walker A. Tompkins, historian It’s still there. Right where it’s been since 1929, when oil rich executives decided to build a showpiece filling station to celebrate the wild success of their Ellwood […]

Waiting for Salvation

When this building was constructed in 1929, surely no one imagined it would still be around in 2016. And who would have imagined that such a tiny little structure could become such a powerful pawn in a political game? Unfortunately, that appears to be just what is happening. On December 20, […]

Hollister Arch

Take a drive up Glen Annie Road and you might notice this unusual arch over a random driveway. It’s more than just a pretty gate, it is yet another overlooked Goleta Historical Monument. In 1870 W.W. Hollister bought 5000 acres from the heirs of Nicholas Den. He named his new […]

Stephen Rutherford

  Ever wonder who this street in Old Town Goleta is named after? We did. And we found out about one of Goleta’s most motivated immigrants. Stephen Rutherford was a sharp real estate investor and he played a major role in the development of Goleta, but very little was written […]

The Birth of Haskells Pier

Haskells pier. A definitive marker for the end of the developed coastline and the beginning of the Gaviota Coast. If you grew up in Goleta, this pier has been in the background of lots of beach day photos…And in the foreground of many beautiful sunset shots. But it’s more than just […]

The Good Doctor Winchester

Winchester Canyon. Quintessential Goleta. At the far west end of Goleta, this is one of the last places that looks like the Goleta of old. Somehow untouched by the all powerful developers, agriculture is still the order of the day and wildlife abounds. So how did this beautiful canyon get the […]

Winchester’s Secret

As you have already learned, Dr. Winchester was a fine, upstanding citizen, held in high regard by even the most elite in early Santa Barbara.So imagine the eyebrows being raised when newspapers all across the country accused him of smuggling opium and illegal aliens!According to the Los Angeles Times on […]

Arroyo Quemada

Have you ever heard of the Baron Ranch hiking trail? Most folks haven’t, but it’s a fine public trail a couple miles west of Refugio State Beach and it’s worth exploring. Pronounced Bear-own Ranch, the beginning of the trail runs through a 1,000 acre ranch owned and managed by Santa Barbara County.  […]