Pebble Beach History

Early History

Prior to 1600: The area that includes Pebble Beach was originally inhabited by the Esselen and Rumsen Ohlone Native Americans.

1602: Friar Sebastian Vizcaino was the first European to have contact with the Ohlone people when he was commissioned to map the local coastal area. He named the local river Rio Carmelo.

1770: Gaspar de Portola and Father Junipero Serra arrived to establish the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo in Monterey. A year later, the mission was relocated closer to the Rio Carmelo in the area that is now Carmel-by-the-Sea.

New Colonization

1821: Mexico’s independence from Spain paved the way for new colonization of vacant land.

1836: The 4,426-acre Rancho El Pescadoro (Fisherman’s Ranch) including part of the Del Monte Forest, Cypress Point, and what is now Pebble Beach was granted to Monterey resident Fabian Barretto.

1841-1860: After Barretto’s death, the ranch changed hands several times.

1848: The Pebble Beach area became a part of the United States after California was ceded by Mexico in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

1850s: Chinese immigrants established fishing settlements along Carmel Bay, including Stillwater Cove near Pebble Beach. They made significant contributions to industry, particularly fishing and the development of the Central Pacific Railroad.

Luxury Development

1860: David Jack purchased Rancho El Pescadoro.

1880: Jack sold Rancho El Pescadoro to the Pacific Improvement Company (PIC), owned by the “Big Four” railroad barons Leland Stanford (founder of Stanford University), Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins. By year-end, the PIC had opened Hotel Del Monte, a luxury resort on 100 acres.

1881: The PIC opened the 17-Mile-Drive, a coastal road showcasing the local surroundings for hotel guests.

1883: The PIC constructed a dam at the head of the Carmel River to supply water to the Hotel Del Monte and the rest of the Monterey Peninsula.

1909: The Pebble Beach Lodge was completed. A formal subdivision development plan for Pebble Beach was also created, featuring over 100 lots for sale.

1916: Samuel Finley Brown Morse (distant cousin of the Morse Code inventor) convinced the PIC to develop a golf course at the edge of Pebble Beach.

1917: The Pebble Beach Lodge burned down while the golf course was still under construction.

1919: The Pebble Beach Golf Links Course and new replacement Del Monte Lodge hotel opened. Morse formed the Del Monte Properties Company and acquired the Del Monte Forest and Del Monte Lodge from the PIC.

Modern Era

1977: The Del Monte Properties Company was reincorporated as the Pebble Beach Corporation after Morse’s death and a period of chairmanship by Alfred Gawthrop Jr.

1979: 20th Century Fox (later purchased by Marvin Davis) bought the Pebble Beach Corporation.

1990: Marvin Davis sold the Pebble Beach Corporation to Minoru Isutani under holding company Lone Cypress.

1999: An investor group led by Clint Eastwood, Arnold Palmer, and Peter Ueberroth purchased Pebble Beach from the Lone Cypress Company.

2000: Pebble Beach’s investor company tried to pass controversial development proposal Measure A. The plan was denied in 2006 and again in 2007.

Current Day: Pebble Beach remains an exclusive gated community famous for its golf courses and 17-Mile-Drive landmarks. Comprised of affluent residents, it is considered a world-class destination.