Local History

An edhat reader reminds the community of Santa Barbara's history of racial injustice when three Harlem Globetrotters were arrested on State Street in 1983.

Over 100 years ago a lead actor from the local Flying A Studio died from the "Spanish Flu."

Tom shares a historical video about the prisoner of war camp that used to be located in western Goleta.

Would you believe King Kong running down De la Vina Street in May 1917?

Over 100 years ago, the "Spanish flu" shut down Flying A Studios on Mission Street for 30 days.

Fashion 100 years ago was all about the invention of the Panama hat, a trend that continues today.

Back in October 1918, the “Spanish influenza” scare was alarming the parents of trick-or-treaters, and put a damper on the demons on the streets of Santa Barbara.

Goleta History compiled a fascinating video on the background of Hollister Avenue and its namesake's Goleta roots.

In 1917, the MissionTheatre ran an ad for a news silent film "Betsy's Burglars."

Over 100 years ago, the Veronica Medicinal Springs Water Company claimed their water treated and prevented the Spanish Flu.

Tom stumbled on a great collection of historic photos of a local fisherman that passed away.

This was the title of a movie being filmed on Santa Cruz Island in March 1918.

Neal Graffy shares a historical reenactment video of Santa Barbara's el canon perdido, the lost canon. 

Everything changed here on October 14, 1918, with the large headline, “‘Flu’ Invades Santa Barbara; Schools, Movies, Other Public Gathering Places May Close.”

While we are all currently under quarantine and thinking this is a historic first for our community, the street named Quarantina tells the story of a quarantine in Santa Barbara over 200 years ago.

A steam locomotive in a sugar shaker factory and vintage sports cars all under one roof, thanks to one creative family in the heart of Goleta.

The women of Santa Barbara started the Santa Barbara branch of the Red Cross in March 1917 during World War I.

An edhat reader shares a photo of Goleta's "Witness Tree" after it just lost a limb.

Although recent historians think that the 1918 flu pandemic started in the United States, back in 1918 it was blamed on the Europeans – Spain in particular, and also Germany.

The “Flying A” was not the only movie studio making movies in our area 100 years ago.

In August 1918, there were no cases of the Spanish Flu in Santa Barbara yet, but articles in the local paper recommended that people start wearing masks if they became sick.

This was one of two movies released by Santa Barbara’s “Flying A” movie studio in February 1919.

During World War I, a local man wrote the lyrics to a patriotic song titled, "Uncle Sam is a Grand Old Man." 

Herbert Earlscliffe of Montecito was cranking the starter on his car in 1914 when something went horribly wrong and he ended up with a broken arm.

A mention of a Santa Barbara landscape artist named Oscar Reagan Coast in a 1917 art magazine caught my eye.

We didn’t have the app-based taxi company called Uber back in Santa Barbara in 1915, but we did have a similar alternative transport system called the jitney.

Experience Santa Barbara's history with photos from the past overlaid on current videos of local landmarks.

The City of Santa Barbara’s Gibraltar Reservoir is 100 years old!

Over 100 years ago a famous landscape painter settled in Santa Barbara.

The big news on the restaurant scene here in January 1916 was the world premiere of the newly invented “Abadie Cuisine Roulante.”