Stories, Legends & Local Lore of the Monterey Peninsula
The Monterey Peninsula is known around the world for its dramatic coastline, historic architecture, golf courses, forests and small coastal communities. But some of the most interesting things about this remarkable corner of California are the stories hidden beneath the surface.
Why are whale bones embedded in an old Monterey sidewalk? Did Carmel-by-the-Sea really require a permit to wear high heels? What happened to Pebble Beach's famous Witch Tree? Why did families once spend their summers living in tents beneath the pines of Pacific Grove? And how did Santa Claus once arrive in Carmel Valley by airplane?
Stories, Legends & Local Lore of the Monterey Peninsula explores the characters, traditions, forgotten landmarks, unusual events and longtime local stories that have helped shape Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, Carmel Valley, Seaside, Marina and the surrounding Peninsula.
Some of these stories are well documented. Others have been passed from one generation to another and have become part of local tradition. Whenever legend and historical fact differ, we'll try to tell you both.
A New Monterey Peninsula Story Every Week
Each week, we'll explore another piece of Monterey Peninsula local lore. Some stories take us back to California's earliest days. Others involve artists, writers, ranchers, soldiers, fishermen, entrepreneurs, celebrities and colorful local characters. And sometimes the story begins with a building, tree, road or neighborhood that thousands of people pass without knowing what happened there.
Along the way, we'll also show you what remains today and connect each story with the community, neighborhood and local history it helped create.
Explore Local Lore by Community
Select a community below to explore its stories, history and local connections. New stories will be added to this collection throughout the year.
Monterey Stories & Local Lore
Few communities in California can match Monterey for layers of history. Spanish and Mexican California, the state's first constitutional convention, the Custom House, old adobes, whaling, fishing, Hotel Del Monte, Cannery Row and generations of writers and artists have all left stories behind.
But beyond the better-known history are smaller details that are easy to miss: whale bones beneath your feet, old hotels with famous guests, forgotten theaters, unusual buildings, legendary characters and remnants of an earlier Monterey that survive among the streets of the modern city.
The Whalebone Sidewalk of Monterey
Why are enormous whale bones embedded in an old Monterey sidewalk, and what do they tell us about life along Monterey Bay?
Robert Louis Stevenson in Monterey
Before becoming one of the world's best-known writers, Stevenson arrived in Monterey sick, nearly penniless and in pursuit of the woman he loved.
The House of Four Winds
One of Monterey's historic adobes carries an unusual name and a connection to the early government of California.
Carmel-by-the-Sea Stories & Local Lore
Carmel-by-the-Sea has spent more than a century developing traditions unlike almost anywhere else in California. Writers, poets, painters, architects, actors and independent-minded residents helped create a village where houses have names, whimsical cottages sit beneath Monterey pines and longstanding customs can sometimes sound more like folklore than municipal policy.
That makes Carmel especially interesting because some of its most frequently repeated stories are absolutely true, some contain a kernel of truth, and others have grown considerably in the telling.
Do You Really Need a High-Heel Permit in Carmel?
It sounds like an urban legend, but the story behind Carmel's famous high-heel ordinance is even more interesting than the headline.
Why Carmel Houses Have Names
From storybook cottages to unusual signs at the garden gate, naming homes became one of Carmel's most recognizable traditions.
Hansel, Gretel & Hugh Comstock
How a builder with no formal architectural training helped create the fairy-tale cottage style now associated with Carmel around the world.
Pebble Beach & Del Monte Forest Stories
Today's Pebble Beach is associated with famous golf courses, luxury homes, the Lone Cypress and 17-Mile Drive, but the Del Monte Forest has been reinvented repeatedly over the past century and a half.
Earlier visitors encountered landmarks that have since disappeared, Chinese fishing settlements, carriage roads and a very different coastline. Later came automobile racing, resort development, championship golf and one of the most recognizable residential communities in California.
The Witch Tree & the Ostrich Tree
Long before today's visitors photographed the Lone Cypress, two other strange trees were famous landmarks along 17-Mile Drive. Neither survives today.
Before the 18th Green
A Chinese fishing community once occupied part of the coastline near what would eventually become one of the most famous finishing holes in golf.
When Race Cars Roared Through Pebble Beach
Before Laguna Seca existed, sports cars raced along public roads winding through the Del Monte Forest.
Pacific Grove Stories & Local Lore
Pacific Grove's Victorian cottages, rocky shoreline and quiet residential streets grew from surprisingly unconventional beginnings. The community started as a Methodist summer retreat where visitors gathered beneath the pines and many initially lived in tents.
From those early camp meetings came cottages, churches, gathering halls and traditions that helped create one of the Monterey Peninsula's most distinctive hometowns.
When Pacific Grove Was a Tent City
Before many of Pacific Grove's famous Victorian cottages existed, families spent their summers living beneath canvas tents in the Monterey pines.
Was Lovers Point Really “Lovers of Jesus Point”?
It's one of Pacific Grove's best-known local stories. We'll look at what people say, what the historic record shows and why the story persists.
The Chinese Fishing Village at Point Alones
A thriving Chinese fishing community once occupied the shoreline between Pacific Grove and Monterey and played an important role in Monterey Bay's fishing history.
Carmel Valley Stories & Local Lore
Carmel Valley's story is very different from that of the coastal towns. Ranching, farming, horses, vineyards, country clubs, resort communities, old family properties and the Carmel River shaped life here long before today's residential neighborhoods and tasting rooms.
Some of the Valley's best stories survive through old newspaper columns, historical society collections, family memories and oral histories — exactly the kind of material this series was created to preserve and explore.
Santa Claus Came by Airplane
For years, one of Carmel Valley's most memorable holiday traditions involved Santa arriving from the sky at the Valley's old airfield.
The Lost Carmel Valley Airfield
Long before today's neighborhoods and businesses, airplanes were part of Carmel Valley life. What happened to the old airfield?
Stories From Carmel Valley's Old-Timers
Ranches, schools, weather, roads and longtime Valley families survive in first-person accounts that provide a remarkable window into an earlier Carmel Valley.
Carmel Valley Real Estate & Neighborhood Guide
Complete History of Carmel Valley
Seaside Stories & Local Lore
Seaside's story adds an important and very different chapter to Monterey Peninsula history. The community was initially envisioned as a seaside resort, but its development became closely connected with working families, nearby Fort Ord and the extraordinary social changes that followed World War II.
Many places that once defined everyday life in Seaside have changed or disappeared, making memories, photographs and oral histories increasingly important parts of the city's story.
The Forgotten Seaside Hot Springs
Seaside's early developers once envisioned a resort community that included hot springs — something few people driving through the city today would ever suspect.
Fort Ord & the Making of Modern Seaside
How one of America's major Army installations transformed Seaside's population, neighborhoods, businesses and identity.
Seaside Was Supposed to Be a Resort Town
The community imagined by Seaside's founders evolved into something very different — and arguably much more interesting.
Seaside Real Estate & Neighborhood Guide
Marina Stories & Local Lore
Marina's relatively young cityhood can obscure a much older local history involving grazing land, agriculture, sand mining, early colonies, Highway 1 and neighboring Fort Ord.
The community has reinvented itself several times, and its transition from open land and military neighbor to a growing residential and university community gives Marina its own collection of unusual local stories.
Before It Was Marina
Bardin, Locke-Paddon Colonies and Paddonville are among the names connected with the community before “Marina” became permanent.
The Sand Plant Along Marina's Coast
Long before today's conservation efforts and coastal recreation, sand extraction was an important industrial activity along this stretch of Monterey Bay.
The Dune Buggy That Saved Lives
A volunteer rescue vehicle created with help from local beach-buggy enthusiasts became an unusual part of Marina Beach history.
Marina Real Estate & Homes for Sale
Stories From Across the Monterey Peninsula
Not every Monterey Peninsula story fits neatly inside a city boundary. Some connect several communities, follow old roads through the region or involve landscapes and institutions whose influence extends far beyond one town.
Future stories will explore places such as Fort Ord, Laguna Seca, Point Lobos, the Highway 68 corridor, the Del Monte Forest, Carmel Highlands and other corners of Monterey County that have helped shape life on the Peninsula.
How 17-Mile Drive Really Began
The famous scenic road began as a carriage excursion from Hotel Del Monte and followed a route different from the drive visitors know today.
The People Behind the Place Names
Roads, ranches, neighborhoods and landmarks throughout the Peninsula still carry the names of families and individuals who helped shape the region.
Lost Landmarks of the Monterey Peninsula
Hotels, trees, racetracks, military buildings, fishing settlements and gathering places can disappear while their stories remain part of local memory.