S.B. Historical Museum

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Question submitted by Norman Macleod

It is a familiar scene; the stuff of movies, television shows, and countless books. A sturdy Concord stagecoach rumbles into a small frontier town, its horse team guided by the skillful hands of the rugged driver, its passengers and strongbox guarded by the man riding shotgun. The travelers alight from the coach, looking as relaxed and refreshed as if they were just beginning their journey. The reality of stagecoach travel on the South Coast, however, was something all together different.

The inauguration of stagecoach travel to Santa Barbara in 1861 was a major step toward the breakdown of the city’s geographical isolation. Santa Barbara at that time had no wharf, the arrival of the railroad was more than 20 years in the future, and the passes up and over the Santa Ynez Range were steep, difficult, and often impassable. Until 1868, the primary stage road ran through Gaviota Pass, but it proved less than ideal. The severe, wet winter of 1861 not only closed Gaviota for days at a time, but also damaged other portions of the stagecoach route through the county. Sometimes the coaches had to be virtually dismantled to get through Gaviota Pass and passengers found themselves trudging through the narrow defile loaded down with their luggage. In 1868, a new route opened up over San Marcos Pass.

Yet travel could still be difficult. For one thing, Concord stagecoaches were rarely used on the South Coast. The preferred vehicle was the boxier mud wagon, its lighter weight allowing for a somewhat easier passage over the steep grades. These coaches had canvas roofs and window coverings, but no doors. The suspension system of iron and leather was different from the Concord coach and resulted in a much harsher, jolting ride. Since the canvas window covers were often rolled up, dust, dirt, or mud were passengers’ constant companions. These vehicles could hold as many as 18 passengers and were pulled by teams of four or six horses.

By modern standards, travel went at a snail’s pace. A trip from Carpinteria to Ventura took around three hours—if the tides were low enough along the beach route at the Rincon to allow passage at all. The journey from Santa Barbara over San Marcos Pass to Los Olivos took eight hours, and those planning to take the stage from Santa Barbara to San Luis Obispo could look forward to a 21-hour ordeal.

The narrow, twisting mountain roads were an open invitation to accidents. Fording rain-swollen creeks or the Santa Ynez River could result in horse teams being swept away. Slow-moving stages were tempting targets for bandits. Coach operators were unarmed to avoid possibly fatal shootouts and the strongbox was fastened to the coach itself to deter theft. It rarely made a difference.

Stage companies were, of course, concerned about their passengers and issued a series of rules designed to make the journeys more pleasant. Drinking was allowed if the bottle was shared, as was chewing tobacco if one spit with the wind. Course language was discouraged, except for the driver when urging his horses to greater efforts. Topics to be avoided included politics, religion, and, especially, highway robbery and accidents. If a runaway were to occur, passengers were strongly encouraged not to jump from the coach.

The advent of the railroad spelled the end of the stagecoach. When the Southern Pacific line connecting Santa Barbara to San Francisco was completed in 1901, the era of the stagecoach in Santa Barbara County came to a close. Despite its discomforts, inconveniences, and dangers, the stagecoach during its 40-year reign had played a vital role in linking Santa Barbara with the outside world.

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