History of The Valley of The Bears
The community of Los Osos and its close neighbor, Baywood, share
much of their history with the surrounding area in San Luis Obispo
County. The area was the heart of the Chumash Indian territory for
centuries. Chumash hunters, fishermen, and foragers exploited their
local marine, coastal, and river resources. In unique
redwood-planked boats, known as tomols, they regularly transported
resources from their offshore islands to the mainland. These
mariners imported specialized stone blades and drills manufactured
on the islands, plus marine resources such as shark, bonito, and
halibut. Chumash fishermen used a variety of nets, traps, baskets,
hooks, spears, and plant poisons to catch or stun fish and catch
seals and sea otters. On the coast they collected abalone and
mussels, and the Chumash trade network passed raw marine materials
such as fish, whale bones, and oils to the interior. Although the
Portuguese conquistador Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo first encountered
the Chumash in 1542, it was not until 1772 that five Catholic
missions were established within the Chumash Nation. After the
secularization of the missions in 1833, the Chumash population fell
into severe decline. In 1901 the U.S. government allocated 75 acres
along Zanja de Cota Creek near Mission Santa Ynez to the surviving
Chumash community. Today the Chumash have their own business
council, a thriving bingo operation, and a federal housing program
on their small reservation. There are approximately 5000 people who
now proudly identify themselves as Chumash Indians.
Spanish explorers first entered the territory in 1542, but it
took 200 years for exploration to get underway. As Governor Portola
and his men trudged northward in 1769 in their search for Monterey
Bay, they were surprised at the great number of bears seen at the
mouth of a small river, and in a coastal valley beyond, which was
promptly named the Valley of the Bears. The Spaniards killed
several bears for food. Meticulously kept mission records state
that on a later hunt Portola's men came back with 9,000 pounds of
bear meat. With the explorers came Franciscan friars who began to
founding missions in the vicinity of Los Osos-Baywood. Between 1822
and 1821, California came under the jurisdiction of Mexico when it
gained independence from Spain. Land grants were made to settlers
in the area until, in 1848, California became a territory of the
United States and San Luis Obispo became one of California’s
original 27 counties. Many place names in the area reflect this
heritage. Burgeoning agriculture and quarrying in the area spurred
rapid population growth in the late 1800s, facilitated by overland
transport options available trough the Southern Pacific Railroad
line. By the 1950s conveyors were installed on the waterfront for
unloading sardine boats that accelerated the commercial development
of the harbors of the area in response to newly discovered fishing
grounds offshore.
You're looking for a clear small container with a Geocaching
sticker on the top. Cache has room for small trinkets, TB's, and
Coins.
Please place cache back in the same spot or better as
this does get muggle traffic and Please practice CITO as
this area has lots.
Replaced cache
5-24-09
PLEASE MAKE SURE TO PLACE THE CACHE WITH THE GEOCACHING
STICKER FACE DOWN TO HELP WITH ITS CAMO