The History of Avila Beach
The history of Avila Beach expands from centuries of Chumash Indian occupation to years of discovery and development by Spanish and American settlers. Since the late 1800s, much has changed in the small community, transforming it from a prosperous Native American community to a central shipping port on the West Coast.
There are six main periods marking the history of Avila Beach:
- Pre-1855
- 1855-1900
- 1900-1910
- 1910-1940
- 1940-1997
- 1997-Present
• Pre-1855 Development
Development in the Avila Beach vicinity prior to 1855 was dominated by agriculture and mission development. Some mining of surface asphaltum deposits was conducted by both Chumash and European settlers. Use of San Luis Obispo Bay as a harbor occurred, although no formal landing was used.
• 1855-1900
The developing Central Coast continually sought transportation solutions to bring agricultural goods to the outside market. Ocean-going vessels brought lumber and passengers to the developing region. Economic growth remained limited until a secure and easily accessed landing was established with the completion of Port Harford. This was also an important period for railroad development. The connection between the Port and San Luis Obispo via rail provided the Central Coast with a significant opportunity for economic expansion. The expansion of rail service continued with the Southern Pacific connection between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
• 1900-1910
This decade saw the beginning of oil production in the Santa Maria Valley and the associated need for efficient transportation for the oil. Numerous oil companies working in the Central Coast competed to lay pipelines to Port Harford. As a result, Port Harford became an important oil shipping port for this area. Early in the decade both Union Oil and Standard Oil were driving forces in the construction and expansion of petroleum facilities.
 • 1910-1940
Port San Luis became the largest crude oil shipping port in the world from 1914 to 1922. As the oil industry in the Avila area continued to grow, Union Oil emerged as the dominant force over other competition. In 1914, the Pacific Coast Railway constructed the oil pier to exclusively handle the transferring of oil to tankers. The Harbor Terrace area tanks were removed as all oil shipments moved to what became the Union Oil pier. Competitors of Union Oil were acquired or withdrew from the area.
• 1940-1997
The only significant change that occurred during this time in the oil industry in Avila was the construction of facilities at the Port San Luis pier by Douglas Oil Co. Operations focused on maintenance and replacement of facilities, until the Union Oil operations at Avila Beach were idled. All facilities, tank farm, terminal and pier are now idle, and pipelines were sold to Tosco.
(From Avila Beach Phase I Expansion History Investigation, October 31, 1997)
• 1997-Present
The Avila Tank Farm was dismantled in 2001 (need to confirm) and the Fossil Point property is currently not in use. Chevron purchased all of Unocal’s holdings in 2005, including Fossil Point. Recently, Supervisor Jerry Lenthall convened a citizen’s committee to give community input on the land use planning for the site.
Avila Beach was once the home of California Native American tribe, the Obispeno Chumash, who occupied the area for several centuries. At its peak, the tribe had over 12,000 members and occupied land from San Luis Obispo County to as far south as Malibu.
Content for this website was compiled using a variety of sources. If you have input or note any inaccurate information, please contact us at info@fossilpoint.com.
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