Mescalitan Island was a mesalike island located about 10 miles west of
Santa Barbara near the outlet of the
Goleta Slough into the Pacific Ocean.
History
Chumash Indians
The island is where the
Chumash Chumash may refer to:
*Chumash (Judaism), a Hebrew word for the Pentateuch, used in Judaism
*Chumash people, a Native American people of southern California
*Chumashan languages, indigenous languages of California
See also
*Chumash traditional n ...
Indian village ''Helo'' was centered. Early Spanish mission documents note that
Juan Crespi
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
, an early visitor, observed the island village to have at least 100 houses with about 600 to 800 total residents.
Juan Cabrillo Period
The first European explorer in the Goleta area, Portuguese navigator
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...
, arrived on October 15, 1542. At this time the Goleta Slough was deep and wide enough to permit entry of large ships. A Spanish schooner, or 'goleta', reportedly sank in the lagoon area sometime thereafter. From that point on, the area became known as Goleta. During a sailing trip to Northern California, Cabrillo was injured, later dying of his injuries; according to some accounts he was buried on
San Miguel Island
San Miguel Island (Chumash: ''Tuqan'') is the westernmost of California's Channel Islands, located across the Santa Barbara Channel in the Pacific Ocean, within Santa Barbara County, California. San Miguel is the sixth-largest of the eight Ch ...
. However, according to the local ''canaliños'' (Chumash) he was buried on Mescalitan Island.
Mescalitan Island was a prominent landmark in the Goleta Slough area. In the 1860s, after years of flooding and winter storms the slough became filled in with sediment.
Leveled
In 1941 the Army Corps of Engineers leveled most of Mescalitan Island to provide fill for a Navy airport. That airport became part of
Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara
Marine Corps Air Station Santa Barbara (MCAS Santa Barbara) was a United States Marine Corps air station that was located in Goleta, California north of Los Angeles during World War II. It was also known as the Goleta Air Station in the 1940s. ...
in 1942, and a few years later became the
Santa Barbara Municipal Airport
Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is west of downtown Santa Barbara, California, United States. SBA covers 948 acres (384 ha) of land and has three runways.
It is near the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the city of Goleta. The a ...
.
Present day
The island is currently the location of the Goleta Sanitary Water Resource Recovery District.
There is a mural depicting Mescalitan Island on the side of the Santa Cruz Market on Hollister Avenue in old town Goleta.
Location
The site of Mescalitan Island is in southern
Santa Barbara County, California at 34° 25' 16" N. latitude and 119° 50' W. longitude. Mescalitan Island is shown in the center of the Goleta
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
topographic quadrangle.
See also
*
Chumash populated places
References
External links
Historical Accounts and Maps of the Goleta SloughMescaltitlan Islandat Goleta History
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Islands of Santa Barbara County, California
Chumash populated places
Former islands of the United States
Goleta, California
History of Santa Barbara County, California
Islands of California
Islands of Southern California