San Roque, Santa Barbara, California facts for kids

San Roque is a neighborhood in Santa Barbara, California. It's mostly a place where people live, located northwest of the city's downtown area. The name "San Roque" comes from Spanish and means "Saint Roch". The neighborhood itself is named after the nearby San Roque Creek, which early Spanish settlers named after Saint Roch.

For city planning, the area is sometimes called San Roque and sometimes East San Roque.

How San Roque Grew

For a long time, San Roque was a rural area with farms. But in the 20th century, it started to become a place where people lived.

Early Homes and Parks

The very first neighborhood built in San Roque was called Rutherford Park. It was developed in 1917 by Stephen Rutherford. The streets in Rutherford Park were laid out in a unique way, with some streets circling a central road called Argonne Circle. This circle was named to remember Rutherford's son, Lawrie, who sadly died in a big battle during World War I.

In 1926, there were plans to build the San Roque Country Club and a golf course. This would have covered a large part of the area next to Rutherford Park. However, these plans slowed down because of a tough economic time known as the Great Depression. In 1939, parts of the land meant for the golf course were given to the city of Santa Barbara. These areas then became San Roque Park and Stevens Park, which are popular places for outdoor activities today.

Schools and Development

As more families moved into San Roque, the population grew. To help with this growth, Peabody Elementary School was built in San Roque in 1928. A few years later, in 1937, the San Roque School was also established.

Between 1945 and 1970, many more homes were built, filling up the remaining empty land. Businesses also started to grow along State Street, which borders the San Roque neighborhood. This period saw San Roque become the busy residential area it is today.