Posts, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Posts
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The Post Ranch Inn in 2013
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 Posts
Location in California
Posts
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Monterey County |
| Elevation | 945 ft (288 m) |
Posts (once called Posts Summit) is a small, undeveloped community. It is located in the Big Sur area of Monterey County, California. You can find it on the Big Sur Coast Highway. It's about 4.8 miles (7.7 km) south of the Big Sur Village. The community sits high up, at 945 feet (288 m) above sea level.
Contents
The Story of Posts
The Post Family Arrives
The history of Posts begins with the Post family. W.B. Post came back to the Monterey area and worked on a ranch. He met Anselma, a woman from the native Ohlone people, and they married in 1850.
W.B. Post became known as a great hunter in the Big Sur region. He hunted bears and deer. He also traded animal hides. This work led him to Moss Landing on Monterey Bay. There, he opened one of the first warehouses for grain. Boats brought grain from the Salinas Valley to his warehouse. W.B. also worked for a steamship company. His success helped the nearby town of Castroville grow. In 1870, W.B. built the first butcher shop in Castroville.
Building a Home in Big Sur
Later, the Post family moved to the Soberanes Ranch in Big Sur. W.B. Post was the foreman there. The Soberanes family was famous for their music. They welcomed other ranchers traveling along the coast.
W.B. Post raised cattle, hogs, and apples on his land. He sold his products to stores in Monterey County. He also sold something called tanbark. This bark came from trees and was used to make tannic acid. Tannic acid was important for the leather industry in Santa Cruz. The tanbark was carried by mules or wooden sleds to Notley's Landing. From there, it was loaded onto ships.
Roads and Connections
At first, getting around Big Sur was very hard. There was only a trail that slowly became a road. In 1885, Monterey County made the Old Coast Road a public road. W.B. Post extended this road south to his ranch. His son, Joseph William Post, was born on the ranch. In 1888, Joseph Post helped build a road to Point Sur, where a lighthouse would later be built.
By 1920, a trip from Carmel to the Post ranch took about 11 hours by wagon. The road was often closed in winter. People wanted to make the wagon road into a highway. The southern part of the Monterey County coast was very isolated. There was no road south of Posts, only a trail for walking or riding horses. This trail went inland over mountains to avoid steep canyons.
The First Post Office
The first post office in Big Sur was in the Post family's house. It was named "Posts." But this caused confusion. Mail meant for the military base, the Presidio, sometimes went to Big Sur by mistake.
To fix this, the residents changed the post office name to Arbolado, which means 'woodland' in Spanish. But this name was also confusing. It sounded like Alvarado, a street in Monterey. So, the post office was moved in 1905 to the Pfeiffer Ranch Resort. This area later became the Big Sur Village.
Finally, the people living there asked the United States Post Office to change the name to Big Sur. On March 6, 1915, the name "Big Sur" became official.
Did you know that the famous writer John Steinbeck worked on the ranch in 1920? He even wrote a letter to the family thanking them for his stagecoach fare. This letter is still kept at the inn today.
The Post Ranch used to be much bigger. To avoid losing their land, W.B. Post sold part of the ranch in 1926. This area later became known as Ventana. Billy Post, a grandson, drove cattle from the ranch to Monterey. This trip took three days! Billy later became a highway electrician.
The Historic Post Ranch House
The original Joseph W. Post House was built in 1867 by W.B. Post. It was a single-room house made from redwood trees found nearby. The wood was split and planed by hand. The house was built in a traditional style, like homes from Connecticut. It had a simple shed for sleeping.
Over the years, the Post family added to the house. Joseph W. Post added a two-story section in 1877. The house has an interesting, uneven shape. It has different roof styles covered with wood shingles. There were also covered porches on both sides.
In 1922, the Big Sur Coast Highway was built right in front of the house. This meant the original barn had to be taken down. Today, the Post House is on the National Register of Historic Places. This means it's recognized as an important historical building.
The building was empty for some years. Then, the Gomez family used it for housing their employees. In 1972, Billy Post sold the house and some land. The Ventana Big Sur Resort was built there, and the old Post House became a cafe.
