telephone number 4 santa margarita water district

The war ended before the work was completed and Santa Margarita Lake is now a County Recreation Area. The War Department took land from local farmers to build a reservoir on the Salinas River which created Santa Margarita Lake to provide water for Camp San Luis. The Depression hit town and the surrounding areas hard. The town offered a motor inn, hotel, 6 gas stations, garages, pool halls, restaurants, fraternal organizations, taverns and a baseball team. The El Camino Real was one of the primary roads for seeing California. Margarita Town saw a renaissance in the roaring 1920s. Once the “gap” was closed from Santa Margarita to San Luis Obispo in 1894 the town grew quiet.

Town boasted a hotel, restaurants, taverns, blacksmiths, and ice cream parlors. All freight had to be loaded for stage transportation up and down the Cuesta Grade. This created a boom time in the community. While construction down the Cuesta Grade took place, the railroad terminus was in Santa Margarita. A “Grand Auction” was held to sell lots for the new town of Santa Margarita along the El Camino Real. On Apthe Southern Pacific Railroad reached Santa Margarita from Templeton. Patrick Murphy worked to restore the Rancho to a working agricultural ranch. After downturns in the economy and personal debts, Estrada sold the Rancho to the Martin Murphy family in 1860. Estrada was famed for his “Rancho Hospitality” with rodeos, BBQs and fiestas. In 1841 after Mexico’s 1822 independence and 1830s mission secularization, Joaquin Estrada became the owner of the Rancho Santa Margarita.

Telephone number 4 santa margarita water district