San Simeon
| San Simeon | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Hearst Castle |
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| Location in California | |||
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| Basic data | |||
| Foundation : | 1836 | ||
| State : | United States | ||
| State : | California | ||
| County : | San Luis Obispo County | ||
| Coordinates : | 35 ° 39 ′ N , 121 ° 11 ′ W | ||
| Time zone : | Pacific ( UTC − 8 / −7 ) | ||
| Residents : | 462 (as of 2010) | ||
| Population density : | 231 inhabitants per km 2 | ||
| Area : | 2 km 2 (approx. 1 mi 2 ) | ||
| Height : | 70 m | ||
| Postal code : | 93452 | ||
| Area code : | +1 805 | ||
| FIPS : | 06-68434 | ||
| GNIS ID : | 248966 | ||
San Simeon is a town and a census-designated place (settlement area defined for statistical purposes) on the Pacific coast in San Luis Obispo County in the US state of California , United States , with 462 inhabitants (as of 2010). The geographical coordinates are: 35.64 ° north, 121.19 ° west. The urban area has a size of 2.0 km².
The village is on California State Route 1 , the Cabrillo Highway, almost exactly between the cities of Los Angeles in the south and San Francisco in the north; both cities are about 370 km away.
history
Before the colonization of California by the Europeans, the land belonged to the Chumash people who settled near San Luis Obispo . The first European land expedition in California took Spanish explorers to the west coast in 1769. Between September 11th and 12th the group passed the current location of San Simeon. At “Ragged Point”, a popular lookout point around 24 km north of San Simeon, the explorers then turned inland into the Santa Lucia Mountains .
San Simeon was named after the ranch "Rancho San Simeon" that existed in the 19th century, although the village was not on the land of Rancho San Simeon. Instead, today's area of San Simeon is on the land of the formerly existing Rancho Piedra Blanca. In 1865 the American Senator and businessman George Hearst bought the site.
The first Europeans to settle around Sam Simeon Bay around 1864 were Portuguese whalers . In 1869 the first berth for whalers was built. A village community quickly developed around the mooring area, but this soon dissolved again due to excessive waves. The berth has been abandoned. In 1878 landowner George Hearst built a new berth, which was also where a new community was formed. Among other things, a general store was built . Whaling in the area continued with a brief interruption from around 1895 to 1908.
In 1953, the Hearst Corporation donated William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach and Hearst Pier to San Luis Obispo County. Today it is part of the Hearst San Simeon State Park.
Attractions
Due to its location in the middle between San Francisco and Los Angeles , San Simeon is a popular starting point for tours of the west coast. The biggest tourist attraction is a large mansion called Hearst Castle , which was built by William Randolph Hearst in the early 20th century. The picturesque coastline of Big Sur begins north of the town . In front of the lighthouse at Point Piedras Blancas is a large colony of elephant seals , the Piedras Blancas Rookery .
Web links
- San Simeon Chamber of Commerce official website (English)
- Hearst Castle official website (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ San Simeon History. San Simeon Chamber of Commerce, accessed November 13, 2017 .
- ↑ Juan Crespí, Robert Weldon. Brower, Herbert Eugene Bolton: Fray Juan Crespi, missionary explorer on the Pacific coast, 1769–1774 . University of California press, Berkeley CA 1927, p. 188–191 (English, catalog.hathitrust.org [accessed May 15, 2018]).
- ^ Robert C. Pavlik: Shore Whaling at San Simeon Bay. In: History in San Luis Obispo County. Lynne Landwehr, 2001, accessed November 13, 2017 .
- ↑ Sebastian's Store. In: The Cambria History Exchange. October 8, 2012, accessed November 13, 2017 .
- ↑ David E. Bertão: The Portuguese shore whalers of California, 1854-1904 . Portuguese Heritage Publications of California, San Jose, CA 2006, ISBN 0-9728576-5-6 , pp. 159-169, 177 (English).
- ^ California State Parks, State of California: Hearst San Simeon SP. Retrieved November 13, 2017 .