Lucia, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lucia
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View of Lucia Lodge
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 Lucia
Location in California
Lucia
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Monterey County |
| Elevation | 354 ft (108 m) |
Lucia is a tiny community located in California, along the beautiful Big Sur Coast Highway. It's about 22 miles south of Big Sur Village and 38 miles north of Hearst Castle. This area is very quiet and doesn't have many people living there.
The main business in Lucia today is the Lucia Lodge. It's one of the few places along the southern Big Sur coast where travelers can stay overnight. Lucia is quite far from any other businesses. Because it's so remote, things like gas can be more expensive here. A small shop and restaurant at the Lodge were damaged by a fire in August 2021.
The first person to claim land here was Wilber Judson Harlan in 1885. His family has lived in Lucia ever since. Today, the fifth generation of his family still runs the Lucia Lodge.
Contents
History of Lucia
Early People of the Land
The Salinan Playano subtribe might have been the first people to live in this area. They are believed to have lived as far north as Slates Hot Springs. Their territory also stretched east over the Santa Lucia Mountains and south towards San Simeon.
Scientists have found shell middens, which are piles of shells left behind. These show that many native people lived along the coast. During the summer, they mainly ate fish and shellfish. This is known because fine shell pieces are found deep in the soil where they camped. The Salinan people called the local peak Pimkolam. The tribe's name comes from the Salinas River, as they didn't have a name for themselves.
First Settlers Arrive
Wilber Judson Harlan was born in Indiana in 1860. After his father passed away, Wilber moved to Santa Cruz, California. In 1885, he claimed 167 acres of land in Big Sur under the Homestead Acts. This meant he could own the land if he lived on it and improved it.
Wilber Harlan grew up on a ranch owned by his parents, George and Esther Harlan. Their ranch was on Lopez Point, just a mile north of Lucia. Wilber's future wife, Ada Amanda Dani, came to Big Sur in 1913. She was a school teacher at the Redwood School. George Harlan met her at the King City train station. He brought her to the coast on a two-day horseback trip. They even stayed overnight in Wagon Caves# in the upper San Antonio River valley. Wilber and Ada married and settled on the land.
The Dani Family and the Post Office
Ada Amanda Dani married her neighbor, Wilbur Harlan, in 1889. They had 11 children together. On March 8, 1900, a post office opened in the home of Elizabeth and Gabriel Dani. While Lucia Dani was the postmaster, it served about 65 local people.
In 1906, Ada became the second postmaster. Her daughter, Lulu May Harlan, later took over. George Harlan rode his horse, Trixie, to deliver mail from Jolon to the Lucia Post Office from 1922 to 1934.
The Harlan family home burned down on December 12, 1926. The post office then closed in 1932. Soon after, the Dani family home also burned down. In 1958, a group of monks bought the Lucia Ranch property. This hermitage is now known as the Immaculate Heart Hermitage.
A Remote Area
Because of the tough mountains and lack of roads, most settlements in Big Sur were either in the north near the Big Sur River or in the south near Lucia. In the 1890s, only about two or three dozen homesteads were spread along a 25-mile stretch of coast between these two points. The California coast south of Posts and north of San Simeon was one of the most isolated places in the state. It was very hard to reach.
Before the coast highway was built, Wagon Cave was a resting spot for travelers. People traveling by horseback would switch to wagons stored there. They used these wagons to take goods to market and bring supplies home. From the Caves, there was an 18-mile wagon road to Jolon. In 1878, Jolon had several stores, a butcher, a blacksmith, a post office, and a Wells Fargo station. When the Southern Pacific Railroad was extended to Soledad in 1886, travelers could ride their wagons or a stagecoach 37 miles north. Families would bring back supplies needed for their remote lives.
William Randolph Hearst, a famous newspaper publisher, wanted to buy more land for his ranch. However, the Harlan family refused to sell their property.
Lucia Lodge Today
The Lucia Lodge was built in the 1930s by Forest Delamater. He leased the land from Wilber Harlan. In 1936, the Lucia Post Office reopened at the new Lodge, but it closed again in 1938. In 1937, the Lucia store opened when the Big Sur Coast Highway was completed. Lucia also had a gas station.
The Lucia Lodge has ten cabins located on a 300-foot cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The fifth generation of the Harlan family still runs these cabins. The Honeymoon Cabin (Unit 10) offers amazing views. The rooms do not have televisions or telephones, which adds to the peaceful, remote feeling. It is even rumored that the lodge is haunted! The Lodge used to have a general store and a restaurant that served meals. Both were badly damaged by a fire in August 2021. Luckily, the cabins, located 100 yards north of the restaurant, were not harmed.
Lucia in Pop Culture
In 2019, the Netflix series Ratched was filmed at the Lucia Lodge. This show is a story that takes place before the movie One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest. After the series was released, the lodge saw a big increase in people wanting to book a stay there.
Additional Reading
- Harlan, Stanley, My Mom and Dad on the south coast of Big Sur 2018 ISBN: 9781729077528
