Monterey County History Articles

KING CITY — A springtime outing called “The Bridges of Southern Monterey County” is being planned for Saturday, April 22, and will be the featured portion of the San Antonio Valley Historical Association’s (SAVHA) annual spring tour. The event is …

On March 10, the Pajaro River flooded the small agricultural town on its banks. Professor Dustin Mulvaney traces the turbulent history of the Central Coast’s second largest watershed.

Shopping malls revolutionized how Americans shopped, socialized, and lived. Now, malls face an uncertain future. How did the dream of a new town square go so wrong?

America has become a mostly suburban country, and California is known for its sprawling ’burbs. But what is a suburb? It turns out California may not be as suburban as people believe.

Silicon Valley has been hit with repeated boom and bust cycles throughout its history, and layoffs are sweeping the tech industry in 2023. Here's why the Valley will survive the latest downturn, as it has all the others.

The Pacific Grove City Council voted on Feb. 15 in favor of hiring an independent expert to study whether the former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration building on Point Pinos is eligible for placement on the city's historic resources index.

Black History Month provides an opportunity to remember the achievements of African Americans who fought for equality in the Golden State.

Dennis the Menace is coming home.

2022 was a year that needed a lot of explaining. And California Local was there. Here are our 10 most important explanatory journalism stories from the year gone by, from immigration to cryptocurrency to wealth inequality and more.

From its early days of hard-charging, Jewish immigrant moguls to today's domination by megacorporations, here's how Hollywood continues to hold its place as one of California's most important industries.

California is the most American of all states, both setting the direction for the rest of the country, and acting as a mirror of what the U.S. is today. Here’s why, and how it got that way.

David Schmaltz outlines a pivotal point in California history in his Monterey County Weekly cover story on the Battle of Natividad.

For years, racist housing deeds and covenants explicitly banned people of color from living in certain housing tracts and certain neighborhoods all over the country, including in Monterey County.

California's government was born out of utter chaos. Here's how the state developed some sort of order to the way it operates, and how it makes and enforces laws.

Sara Rubin here. In 1995, Bill Clinton was in his second year as president, Pixar produced Toy Story (the first fully computer-animated feature film), and a NATO offensive ended war in Bosnia. It was also the year that the California…

California is full of places and communities, but most are not cities. Here's what it takes for a community to become a city, the benefits of being one—and why the state has a 'de facto moratorium' on new cities.

JOLON — “The Pat Hathaway Collection” will be the featured topic for the San Antonio Valley Historical Association Fall Lecture and Annual Dinner meeting planned for Saturday, Nov. 12, at the Historic Hacienda at Fort Hunter Liggett. Featured speaker will …

GONZALES — City of Gonzales recently hosted a cultural celebration in honor of the 75th anniversary of Gonzales’ incorporation. Hundreds of families and community members turned out for the city’s diamond jubilee on Oct. 15, which included food, games and …

Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel, yet it is the source of 40 percent of the world's energy. California remains an exception to coal industry dominance, using and producing less coal that almost any other state.

Oil aka petroleum holds a tighter grip on California than any other energy source. Here's how Big Oil came to dominate the state and world economy, and some hints at how oil's grip may finally loosen.