Catalina Island History
For thousands of years,
Santa Catalina Island has welcomed a wide variety of
inhabitants, including Native Americans, Spanish explorers,
smugglers, hunters, fisherman and more. It's no doubt that
Catalina Island has touched the souls of all who have been
fortunate to encounter her gorgeous vistas, secluded coves and
lush landscape.
One of three southern
Channel Islands, Santa Catalina is 21 miles long, 8 miles wide
at its widest point and lies just 20 miles off the coast of
Southern California. The island is named for Saint Catherine, as
the island was "discovered" by the explorer Sebastian Viscaino
on the eve of Saint Catherine's Feast Day of 1602.
Archaeologists have
uncovered evidence of inhabitants from as far back as 7,000
years ago. While not much is known about these early residents,
historians can place Native Americans who had migrated from
Nevada, Utah and other parts of California to the island at
approximately 1000 AD. They utilized the island's abundant ocean
and plant resources and maintained contact with the mainland and
neighboring Channel Islands using large, plank canoes. Their
villages were located at the sites of today's Avalon, Little
Harbor, White's Landing and Empire Landing and Two Harbors.
With the Spanish effort
to colonize California, visitors as diverse as Spanish
missionaries, sea otter hunters and smugglers looked to the
island as a hospitable haven. By the 1820s, the island's Native
American population had essentially disappeared, falling victim
to disease or relocation to the mainland. Today, their
modern-day descendents are working to uncover and preserve their
heritage.
Throughout the 1800s,
Catalina changed hands many times and was controlled at various
times by the Mexican government, came under American rule in
1848 and was privately owned by a variety of individuals,
including Thomas Robbins. By 1887, George Shatto purchased the
island for development as a tourist resort. He established the
town of Avalon on the northeast side of the island, enlarged the
existing wharf and built the Hotel Metropole. He had Avalon
officially surveyed and sold the first lots for development.
In 1892, the Banning
brothers purchased the island from Shatto and in 1896 built
roads, installed the first telephone and wireless telegraph
systems and built several tourist attractions: dance pavilions,
a band stand, an aquarium, a Greek amphitheater, an inclined
railway from Avalon to Lover's Cove and the Catalina Island Golf
Course. Fishing expeditions, stagecoach sightseeing trips and
glass-bottomed boat tours were offered on the island as well.
Around the turn of the century, the island became world-renowned
for sport fishing.
After a fire burned
nearly one-third of Avalon in 1915, the Banning brothers sold
the Island to William Wrigley Jr. Under his tutelage, the island
saw many infrastructure improvements, including a power plant
and reservoirs that brought fresh water to the interior of the
island.
The Wrigley family's
purchase ushered in a golden era for Catalina in the 1920s and
30s, when the Island came to be a sought-after tourist
destination. The Wrigleys promoted the island through events
such as the 1927 Wrigley Ocean Marathon swim, golf tournaments
and hosting The Chicago Cubs for spring training. The casino was
open nightly for dancing and many films of the era were filmed
on the island, introducing the rich and famous to the island. In
the 1930's and 40's, Big Band music was broadcast live from the
Avalon Ballroom in the Casino to a nationwide audience. Catalina
has hosted such Hollywood luminaries as Charlie Chaplin, Mickey
Rooney, Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, James Cagney,
Errol Flynn, Orson Wells and John Wayne. In 1924, a film company
brought 14 bison to the Island to make a movie and left them
behind. Today this famous herd remains and is maintained by the
Catalina Island Conservancy. Presidents, politicians, artists,
authors and many thousands of tourists visited Catalina during
this storied era.
With onset of World War
Two, the island was closed to tourists and served as a training
base for the Merchant Marine, Army Signal Corp, OSS, and Coast
Guard. Marilyn Monroe lived on the island for a time while her
husband, James Dougherty, was stationed on the island as a
member of the Merchant Marines. When the war ended, the island
again became a popular destination using the newly acquired
amphibious planes used during the war.
In 1975, the Wrigley
Family donated 88% of the island to the Catalina Island
Conservancy, a nonprofit corporation with a mission to "preserve
and restore Catalina to its natural state in perpetuity so that
future generations can continue to enjoy this unique part of
California's heritage." Today, bald eagles, native Santa
Catalina Island fox and the orange-crowned warbler are a few of
the current species being targeted for assistance by the
Conservancy. Visitors are invited to explore Catalina's vast
natural beauty by foot, bike, horseback, jeep or bus.
For more ideas on
discovering the magic of Catalina Island and catching a glimpse
of its illustrious past, please see our
Activities Page.
