Local History

In October 1918, there were more than 50 articles in the local papers about the Spanish Flu invading Santa Barbara.

Does anyone recognize this historic house believed to be in Santa Barbara and know where it is?

In October 1918, a famous wrestler arrived in Santa Barbara for a match with his pet pig.

From October 5 through January 2, the John and Peggy Maximus Gallery at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History will exhibit antique maps and books from the 17th to 19th centuries. 

As the summer temperatures were rising, the swimsuit controversy was heating up in Santa Barbara 100 years ago.

On September 21, 1918, the local paper reported, “Summerland was the scene of patriotic enthusiasm..."

100 years ago, the "Flying A" studio created a special effects storm for a film in Santa Barbara. 

Betsy reports the Santa Barbara Dons football team was disbanded in 1918 as too many players went off to war.

An edhat reader shares a travel video of Santa Barbara from 1975.

In September 1918, Santa Barbara already had the Lockheed/Loughead brothers with their seaplane giving rides to tourists on the beach, so it was only natural to dream of the next step.

[Update]: Can edhat readers provide some local history on the Channel City Horse Show?

The Gillespie Estate in Montecito served as the setting for a silent movie called “Our Better Selves.” 

100 years ago Santa Barbara received news of the area's first death during World War I.

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.