Arroyo Grande’s Place in American History

In 1869, Arroyo Grande consisted of one school, one store and one smithy. As late as 1940, the town’s population was only 1080. But every American town, including Arroyo Grande, has ties to the great themes of American history. Its first settlers, for example, contributed to the emerging industrial revolution on the Eastern seaboard. The area also saw the same growing pains that marked the frontier West, including periodic lawlessness and mob violence. Arroyo Grande has surprising ties to the Civil War-- a local farmer, for example, who was a Medal of Honor winner and a Halcyon resident who’d served as a Union Army nurse. These veterans, who came with the construction of the narrow-gauge railroad, would establish the Valley’s rich agricultural reputation. The farming tradition continued with waves of immigration from the Azores, Japan and the Philippines at about the same time Ellis Island was becoming so emblematic of immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe. The Depression years were marked by bitter labor disputes and the impact of New Deal programs like the Civilian Conservation Corps. Finally, the terrible war that began with the deaths of two Arroyo Grande sailors on USS “Arizona” would bring out the best in the many young men and women who joined the military. The war’s presence was constant, thanks to military bases nearby, and it would inflict perhaps the greatest wound in Arroyo Grande’s history: the internment of our Japanese-American neighbors.