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Treasure Hunting, Ranching and Tourism on Catalina

The 1800s saw a new era for the Santa Catalina Island as Mexican Land Grants encouraged settlement of the islands that had been only recently the home of the native Gabrielino. With California becoming a State in 1850, the American drive to establish profitable enterprises soon took over the future of the island, and today we still see both the positive and the disastrous results of development efforts on each of the Channel Islands.

The land grant that the Mexican Government assigned to Santa Catalina was awarded to Thomas Robbins in 1846. The award of this land grant was one of the last acts of Mexican Governor Pio Pico before California was annexed to the United States in 1848. From the 1859s to the 1880s, many people bought and sold the island - a least one in every decade. During these thirty years, the owners ran herds of cattle and sheep and combed the mountains for a sign of gold and silver. These years started the American development of Catalina, and its many romantic stories and developer’s visions unfolded during the 1800s and early 1900s.