Read more
First dubbed San Benito and then "Spanishtown," Half Moon Bay is a coastside town with a long and intriguing story. Many know it for its lovely natural surroundings, quaint downtown architecture, and relaxed atmosphere, but not many people know that this town was the first to be established in San Mateo County as a result of 1840s land grants to early Spanish settlers. Isolated on the coast for a time, it became home to Mexican, Chilean, Italian, Portuguese, and other cultures after the 1850s, when roads finally reached over the mountains. During the 20th century, a wide variety of businesses thrived here, as people arrived by road, water, and even railroad.
About the author
Local history experts Kathleen Manning and Jerry Crow have assembled this fascinating collection of vintage images to showcase the people, industry, and events that made Half Moon Bay what it is today. Former San Francisco History Association president and current Pacifica Historical Society co-president Manning, who deals in rare prints and books, also wrote San Francisco's Ocean Beach (Arcadia Publishing, with Jim Dickson). Crow, past president of the Pacifica Historical Society, provided much of the material for Arcadia's Pacifica.
