Albert E. Touzalin, an associate of Forbes at the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad, purchased the majority of the lands.
He garnered local investors to form the Montecito Land Company and
transferred all his holdings into it with the intention of developing a
residential tract.
The Land Company’s property roughly included the lands east
and south of Hot Springs Road and west of Olive Mill Road all the
way to the ocean. The company plotted out hundreds of small strip
lots connected by curving roads. With the fall in land prices, however,
sales were slow. Nevertheless, those few who could afford to buy often
purchased several lots to build large residences with expansive gardens.
In 1894, a newly arrived global businessman from New York,
Major Joel Adams Fithian, purchased three lots on Channel Drive at
the urging of his sons, who wanted to establish a country club. Soon,
a wood-shingled clubhouse for the Santa Barbara Country Club faced
the Pacific Ocean. Over the years, the club added a pier, bathhouse,
and additional cottages. A golf course was laid out on land leased from
the Montecito Land Company. Each time that lots were sold, however,
the course had to be realigned. When the number of holes decreased to
seven in 1908, the Club decided it was time to move to a new location.
Landmarks
(above)
The Montecito Land Company subdivided its properties into
residential lots circa 1887 (Courtesy Montecito Association History
Committee)
(below)
Channel Drive circa 1900 shows the cottages and
clubhouse of the Santa Barbara Country Club, as well as the gazebo, stone
balustrade, bathhouse, and Fithian pier ( Courtesy SBHM)
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