Local History

Although Santa Barbara’s shoreline is very photogenic, during World War I, photo buffs were told to refrain from using their cameras to capture images of the coastline.

In 1914, a massive storm hit Santa Barbara causing a destructive flood.

The local Flying A Studio released its first scary movie, "The Ghost of Rosy Taylor," 100 years ago.

We never heard too much about Stephen Rutherford, but the more we looked, the more we found.

Betsy shares a historic photo from 1887 in Santa Barbara when the first train arrived in town.

A couple of well-known dancers were appearing at a street fair here in July 1918 that was held to benefit St. Vincent’s orphanage.

On the evening of June 30 and the early morning of July 1, 1918, the residents of Santa Barbara were kept awake by Mother Nature’s light show.

100 years ago, a column in the newspaper suggested that instead of fireworks on July 4th, the noise would be furnished by motorcycles. 

Short answer: It’s a schooner. Why is our town named after a schooner? There are a few schools of thought on that question.

Back in June 1917, there was a record-breaking heatwave, and fires broke out in Ojai and Carpinteria.

The City of Santa Barbara shares a video detailing the history of Kids World in Alameda Park.

Do edhat readers know where the large abalone shell pile was in the 1960's?

Seventy-five years after their plane crashed on San Miguel Island, 12 members of a U.S. Army Air Forces bomber squadron will be honored for the first time.

Although a lot of the news in the local papers was pretty grim in 1918, there was a new cartoon artist whose work began appearing here.

There was a solar eclipse in the afternoon of June 8 that spread across the United States, somewhat similar to the one we experienced in 2017.

The “Flying A” studio released a couple of movies in June 1918, one was “Up Romance Road.”

One hundred years ago, in  May 1918, the circus came to town.

It was a great party in May 1918 on Pico Street in Santa Barbara's Eastside — until the police showed up.

In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared the second Sunday in May to be Mother's Day.

In May 1918, a mysterious fire broke out on Santa Cruz Island and burned for a week and a half.

On April 6, 1918, the first anniversary of the U.S. declaration of war on Germany, Santa Barbara held a 90-minute parade.

Although ground squirrels were never popular, tree squirrels  were considered  cute 100 years ago.

There was a big show at the Potter Theatre on State Street in April 1918 that was a benefit for the Red Cross and featured a well-known clown.

Learn the history of Sycamore Creek with this informational video.

Negative feelings about Germany were strong in 1918 during World War I.

An edhat reader wants to know what type of wood was commonly used in historical Spanish revival homes in Santa Barbara.

After months of watching the Lockheed plane’s construction, the people of Santa Barbara were finally able to watch its first flight.

Do edhat readers know what used to be at 1701 Anacapa before the condos were built?

The pier at Haskells beach has been in the background for all our lives. Who knew its creation was so dramatic?

At the foot of Ortega Hill in March 1918, Mr. F.W. Myers stepped outside to look at a rainstorm and was pelted with a live fish.