The
Ohlone people harvested shellfish including
abalone from the waters around Point Lobos. Evidence has been found of a long-term village named Ichxenta, in a meadow near San Jose Creek adjacent to Point Lobos, that indicates the natives inhabited the area for about 2,500 years. The village meadow is currently known as the Polo Field. There are 19
midden sites within Point Lobos and five sites containing mortar holes used by the natives for grinding acorns and seeds. Ichxenta was likely occupied until near the end of the
Carmel Mission era, when the native population was decimated by disease, starvation, overwork, torture, and forced assimilation.
Spanish and Mexican era Governor
Juan Bautista Alvarado granted
Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito, two square
leagues of land, in 1839 to Marcelino Escobar, Alcalde (or mayor) of
Monterey, Alta California. The grant was from the south side of
Carmel River, including Point Lobos, south to
Palo Colorado Canyon. Two of Escobar's sons, Juan and Agustin, obtained possession of the rancho shortly afterward, and sold it on August 26, 1841, to Doňa Maria Josefa de Abrego, who held power of attorney for her husband José Abrego to buy and sell land. She paid $250, one-half in silver, and one-half in gold, or about three cents per acre. Ownership of Point Lobos was later complicated by the fact that when Juan and Augustin Escobar sold the rancho to Josefa de Abrego in 1841, they did not obtain permission from their multiple brothers and sisters. The siblings later contested the sale. Under somewhat mysterious circumstances, on January 16, 1843, Maria Abrego deeded the rancho to a group of about 10 soldiers from the
Monterey Presidio. Records confirm the soldiers paid nothing, and a legend attached to the transfer says a gambler lost a rancho in a card game. Her husband was known for his gambling habit. The commission denied Castro's claim on August 28, 1855. Castro died in 1860. All of the 34 claims from the 1880 lawsuit were invalidated as a result.
Industrial period In 1851 a Chinese sailor, Quock Junk, ran aground at Point Lobos. He was rescued by members of the
Ohlone tribe. He was later joined by four or five other Chinese families who built cottages at Whaler's Cove. They became the first commercial fishermen at the point. On September 22, 1853, the Point Lobos lighthouse was linked by telegraph to San Francisco. The link was primarily used to transmit maritime and weather information. From 1854 to 1858, a granite quarry was operated at what was later named Whaler's Cove. The stone was used to build the Old Monterey Jail,
San Francisco Mint, portions of
Fort Point, and buildings on the Navy's installation at
Mare Island Naval Shipyard. In 1862, Antonio Victorine, a Portuguese whaler from the
Azores, arrived at Point Lobos, following the whale population. About fifty to seventy family members lived at Whaler's Cove. The men spotted whales from Whaler's Knoll and then rowed off shore about in 24-foot boats to harpoon them. They towed the whales back to Pt. Lobos to flense and harvest the blubber. They then towed the carcasses back out to sea.
Coal mining of the Carmelo Land and Coal Company mine in upper
Malpaso Canyon, south of Carmel, California, in 1895 In 1874, a seam of low grade
bituminous coal was found in upper Malpaso Canyon, southeast of Pt Lobos. On September 6, 1888, shortly after the patent for Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito was approved, almost all of the owners banded together to form the Carmelo Land and Coal Company. In exchange for shares in the company, they sold their interest in the land for $1. The outer portion of the point was reserved as the Point Lobos Park. Allan decided to move the remainder of his family from Oakland to Point Lobos. Allan established the Point Lobos Dairy at the mouth of San Jose Creek which was operated from 1903 until 1954. One member of the family sold a portion they inherited to form the Carmel Meadows subdivision.
Tollgate installed In 1899, Allan and his wife Satie, who grew to appreciate the natural beauty of the point, were concerned about the increasing number of visitors. People had been visiting the point for many years to see the rare
Monterey Cypress trees and enjoy the scenic coastline. The Allan family put up toll gates, prohibited camping, and charged visitors 50 cents a vehicle (about $10 today) to enter the point. Allan bought many of the residential lots that had been subdivided and later got the entire subdivision removed from the county record. Point Lobos gained the attention of the newly established California State Park system, who considered taking the land using
eminent domain. Allan initially resisted the idea of making the land a public park. The family persuaded the state to wait until Allan died.
World War II use At the beginning of World War II, a U.S. Army Coastal Defense Squad used the Whalers Cabin at Whaler's Cove for its headquarters. From 1942 to 1944, the cove was the site of a 4th Air Force Long-Range Radar site. Tents were set up to accommodate 90 men below Rat Hill. In July and August 1943, the U.S. Army established a training school for the 543rd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment,
3rd Engineer Special Brigade, at Whaler's Cove at Point Lobos. The unit found that the cove was an ideal harbor for anchoring and maintaining their boats. The unit was later involved in 62 landings in the
southwest Pacific.
Modern changes The Allan family retained the land to the east of Highway 1. Eunice Allan Riley, one of Alexander's three daughters, repurchased the last subdivided lots in the 1950s. In 1960, underwater acres were added as the first marine reserve in the United States. The marine reserve was designated an ecological reserve in 1973, and in 1992, was added to the
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the largest in the nation. == In popular culture ==