HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistory of San Luis Obispo 7History of San Luis Obispo 7
Joseph A. Carotenuti
City Historian/Archivist
The County Seat’s administrative center was in the “building adjoining the Church” and today is
known as the convento wing facing Mission Plaza and included a jail.
County affairs would soon move to Captain
William G. Dana’s Casa Grande (built along
today’s Court Street) until the first courthouse
was built in 1873 on the site of the current
judicial center. There was no Town Hall – and
would not be one – until a few years later. In
the meanwhile, officials met in a home,
business, and - once built - in the County
building.
Ranchos still occupied great expanses of the
county but functioned with a minimal number
of families and vaqueros. Towns, on the other
hand, thrive through businesses that require
patrons. A great theme in these pioneer
municipal years is increasing the population
who would them require more goods and services. They also enlarged the tax base and
revenue.
Thus, civic governance required more revenue that required more population. For a county
located south of the economic center of the State…San Francisco…luring residents was not an
easy task.
Surrounding the economic imperatives – then and now – was an orderly and stable municipal
government. With the State prescribing many of the statutes for municipalities, minimal
attention was given to the evolution of the community. In this writer’s History of San Luis
Obispo 1850 to 1876, the major incorporations of the town are more fully detailed, but suffice
to write here, there were several major pieces of legislation before we became a city in 1876.
While the State provided legislation for towns to become incorporated in March 1850, it was
the responsibility of the local residents to comply with the law’s requirements. As the County
seat had its own governance, there were few interested or able
to comply with the state requisites. Various re-incorporations
until cityhood changed the community’s administration and
taxing authority. In a future installment, we’ll explore some of
the ramifications of the first federal survey requiring the small
town to purchase itself from Washington, D. C!
Since the Federal Land Commission rejected the local claim that
we had been a pueblo under Mexican rule and no local
petitions were made for the settlement to become
incorporated, it was not until February 19, 1856 (six years after
statehood) that the rural crossroad was declared a “town” in a very brief legislative act.
The major requirement in this legislation was the annual election of three men as a Board of
Trustees (one chosen as president) who served without compensation. Additionally, without
voter approval (2/3 majority), the Board could not contract for debt in excess of $500. Any
other decisions were to comply with the original 1850 act.
This legislation was repealed two years later. Since no new legislative act was substituted, the
“Town of San Luis Obispo” ceased to exist until the citizenry decided to return to the 1850
legislation and form their own official community. In yet another chapter in the ongoing saga
of municipal identity, it required another legislative act to change the complexion and intensity
of governance while the Nation was involved in a punishing Civil War.
Contact: jacarotenuti@gmail.com