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December 8th in Seal Beach History

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Michael Dobkins

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On this date in 1916, the Orange County Board of Supervisors awarded a contract to Lee Garnsey to construct a road along the coast from Seal Beach to Huntington Beach. The price for three miles of road between Seal Beach and Huntington Beach? $16,900.

This was not a modern paved highway at this stage. It was a fenced dirt road that would be oiled to keep dust to a minimum. When ruts were worn into the road, they were filled with more dirt.  The road opened in August 1917 after Seal Beach removed 600 feet of sand blocking road access and repaired the bridge over Anaheim Bay that ran parallel to the Pacific Electric bridge and connected to Electric Avenue.

This stretch of road was the start of a movement to extend what was then called a coast boulevard stretching from Seal Beach to Laguna Beach.

A Huntington Beach Centric ad from the November 24, 1916 issue of the Huntington Beach News (Source: Chris Jepsen’s O.C. History Roundup blog)

– Michael Dobkins

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Comments

3 responses to “December 8th in Seal Beach History”

  1. Lonnie Brownell Avatar
    Lonnie Brownell

    Los Patos? Thought maybe that was a reference to the Bolsa Chica Gun Club, but apparently it was the name of an area around today’s Huntington Harbour/Sunset Beach/Bolsa Chica (and a stop for the Red Cars). The following page says that there were at least 13 hunting clubs in the area! Must have been a lot of very nervous patos around there back then.

    http://ochistorical.blogspot.com/2006/08/huntington-harbour-history.html

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  2. Michael Dobkins Avatar
    Michael Dobkins

    The Los Patos name dates back to 1907 when some Pasadena and El Monte businessman bought 60 acres from the Westminster Gun Club (which retained 200 acres for their own sportsmen).

    It’s a peculiar sometimes to be reminded of how much the local landscape has changed and how remote Seal Beach, Bay City, and Anaheim Landing and how few roads there were to the area. You grow up in a city with concrete curbs, asphalt streets, and tracts built on a grid, and it feels permanent and eternal. And yet, at one time none of those things were there, and real people had to plan, design, and construct the cities and roads and buildings we take for granted today.

    As for duck hunting, back in the day, newspapers would publish how many ducks had been shot at various clubs and locations, much the same way they used to publish fishing reports on a pier by pier basis. It was a different world.

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  3. CARxR 2.01: Route 1 – Orange County – California Highways: Route by Route

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