Historic Context Statement for Agricultural Resources in the North County Planning Area, Monterey County

PAST Consultants, LLC

From executive summary: "The objectives of the Historic Context Statement: Agricultural Resources in the North County Planning Area, Monterey County are to: Establish significant events and locational patterns in the agricultural development of the North County Planning Area (North County) up to 1960. Organize the North County’s developmental events and patterns into a group of themes that represent agriculture-related resources developed up to 1960. Provide examples of associated property types within each theme, focusing on extant historic properties. Provide eligibility and integrity thresholds for purposes of surveying and/or nominating historic properties to national, state and local registers of historic resources. Identify preservation priorities and suggestions for further research. This historic context statement addresses the following place, time and themes: a. Place: The North County Planning Area: Located in northern Monterey County, California, the North County’s coastal location, fertile soil, alluvial plains, rolling hills and Mediterranean climate make it one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. The North County encompasses about 114 square miles of the southern Pajaro Valley and the northern Salinas Valley, including the communities of Castroville, Moss Landing, Prunedale, Pajaro, Las Lomas and part of Aromas. Water bodies or county lines form three of the North County’s borders. The Monterey Bay forms the western boundary. The northern boundary is the Pajaro River, which also divides Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. The eastern boundary begins where Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties meet north of Aromas; it then follows the Monterey County line south to Old Stage Road. The southern boundary is not as clearly demarcated as the other three boundaries... b. Time: Pre-History to 1960: The agricultural history chapter reviews the settlement of the region by time period, discussing the Ohlones (ca. 5000 B.C.-1870 A.D.), the Spanish Period (1769-1822), the Mexican Period (1822-1848) and American Settlement and Agricultural Expansion (1848-1960). Other books and reports discuss the Ohlone, Spanish and Mexican periods in great detail, so this historic context statement provides only a brief overview of those periods. North County residents during those periods began transforming California from a natural landscape to a cultural landscape, and early agriculture played an important role in initiating landscape change. However, because this historic context statement emphasizes extant North County properties, the historical narrative focuses on the period of American Settlement and Agricultural Expansion (1848-1960). Similarly, the historic themes and associated properties also focus on that period. Many ethnic and cultural groups have played a significant role in the North County’s agricultural history, including the Irish, Chinese, Japanese, Italians, Croatians, Swiss, Dust Bowl migrants, Filipinos, Mexicans and many others. The contributions of these groups are discussed throughout the historic context statement." Funding was provided in part by a 2009 Historic Preservation Fund grant to the County of Monterey (project number CA-09-47) administered by the California State Historic Preservation Office (grant number 06-09-21810) and the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Monterey County, California is a Certified Local Government.

Historic Context Statement for Agricultural Resources in the North County Planning Area, Monterey County

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