Gaviota Pass

Santa Barbara County · 4 miles northeast of Gaviota · location approximate

Here, on Christmas Day, 1846, natives and soldiers from the Presidio of Santa Barbara lay in ambush for Lieutenant Colonel John C. Frémont, U.S.A., and his battalion. Advised of the plot, Frémont was guided over the San Marcos Pass by Benjamin Foxen and his son William, and captured Santa Barbara without bloodshed.

1971 register text, presented as a historical document. It uses the period's terms for Native people; the state's landmark listings still carry most of this wording, and the California Office of Historic Preservation maintains the program's current texts.

Many of these plaques have since been recast or their texts revised. The California Historical Landmarks program and its current texts are maintained by the California Office of Historic Preservation. California Office of Historic Preservation ↗

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Marker data: State of California, Department of Parks and Recreation, California Historical Landmarks (1971)

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