Historical Society of Morro Bay

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Historical Society of Morro Bay

Basic Info In March of 1993 a group of Morro Bay residents met and formed the Historical Society of Morro Bay. These books can be purchased from the HSMB.

Their goal was to preserve the history and stories of our town. Wayne Bickford was president for the 1st year and then Kathryn Limon lead the Society until 1998. They met quarterly and presented programs of interest, with interviews of local residents from Morro Bay. They also published a newsletter called “Rock a Rama”. In July of 1998 they were forced to take a hiatus as most of the leaders had

moved out of the area. In 2002 , Gary Ream, a member of the City Planning Commission, held a meeting with people that were interested in once again having a Historical Society. About 35 people showed up for the meeting and a slate of officers was formed. The new officers were: Gary Ream, president, Nancy Castle, Vice-president, Ginny Babka, secretary, & Mary Lou Marshall Treasure and Paul Tweed members at large. Within two years the Society had applied for and received a c502 non-profit status. Again, the leaders planned quarterly meetings and had many very interesting interviews with long time members of the City. All of the meetings were put on videotape by Nancy Castle and her firm, AGP, so that we would have the individuals and their stories recorded for future generations. Some of the activities provided for the City by the HSMB are: HSMB installed an information panel in Cloisters Park showing the history of that area; organized the annual “Celebrate Morro Bay Parade” until 2011; donated over $5,000 to various non-profit groups in Morro Bay; organized and printed a self guided walking tour map of Morro Bay Blvd. and surrounding streets; we have had an information booth at the Harbor Festival for several years. We have had two table top books prepared for the HSMB. The first, “Images of America Morro Bay” written by Roger Castle and Gary Ream the second “Morro Bay Then and Now” by the same two authors with pictures by Garry Johnson. As we enter 2014 we have several new and exciting things planned for the people of Morro Bay. Here are the names of the Society presidents and the years they served: Wayne Bickford (’93-’94), Kathryn Limon (‘94-’98), Gary Ream (2002-’07), Roger Castle (’07-’12), Jennie Brantlee (’12-’13), Nancy Castle (’13-’14) and Linda Estes 2014. If you would like more information on the HSMB or how you can become a member you can find that information on our web site http://morrobay50th.com/.

06/13/2026

Devastating Fire Destroys the South T Pier

It was described as the worst disaster to occur on the Morro Bay Harbor in the City’s history. At approximately 6:15 A.M. on Thursday, December 1, 1988, a fire broke out on the South T Pier, which is located at the base of the Great American Fish Company restaurant. In the end, at least 14 fire engines, five fire departments, and nearly 70 firefighters from across the county battled the blaze that within five to ten minutes engulfed the entire pier.

The entire article can be accessed here:
https://historicalmorrobay.org/estero-bay-news-2026/

Click on Fire Destroys the South T Pier

06/09/2026

Abalone in Morro Bay Part 1 & 2

Local native American tribes ate abalone they were able to find in the intertidal zone along rocky shores. In the nineteenth century, Asian immigrants—first the Chinese in roughly 1850 – 1920, and then the Japanese 1897 – 1941—brought a taste for abalone with them and they also fished for abalone.

The Chinese fished the intertidal zone, like the Native Americans before them, using rods or poles to knock the abalone from the rock. They sent it most of the catch back to China, where the demand for it was strong. There was no competition for the abalone at that time because the European Americans had no taste for it!

This is a 2 part series and can be read in its entirety here: https://historicalmorrobay.org/estero-bay-news-2026/

Click on Abalone Part 1 & 2

05/27/2026

The Dairy Industry Brings Vitality to the Central Coast

A devastating drought of the early 1860’s simultaneously changed the landscape and transformed the ranching industry of San Luis Obispo County. Huge tracts of land known as ranchos had dominated agriculture along the Central Coast. The sprawling ranchos were self-reliant communities, applying Spanish ranching traditions to produce food and provide transportation. Cattle trade was sparked by the soaring demand for beef in the east where rapid industrialization was taking place...

There is so much more to this story! In fact, it's in 2 parts and can be found here:

https://historicalmorrobay.org/estero-bay-news-2026/

Click on Dairy Industry Part 1 & 2

05/20/2026

The Mysterious Case of the Headless Co**se: Part 1 & 2

This is the story of events that occurred in “Morro” in 1867. It is based on original court records – signed statements of witnesses, the jury and the coroner – into the cause of death of a co**se found on the beach in Morro Bay. Part I is a summary of the evidence the jury heard before issuing a verdict: you can form your own opinion. Part II will share the verdict.

In July of 1867 Franklin Riley discovered a body on the beach below his house, which was close to present-day Main Street and Morro Bay Boulevard. You will recall that Mr. Riley is the acknowledged founder of Morro Bay. In 1867 Riley was living on land that became his official “homestead” in 1872. During the inquest, the coroner referred to Riley’s “land” and “property,” so it was already seen as his.

Want to read the full story? It's in 2 parts and they can be found here: https://historicalmorrobay.org/estero-bay-news-2026/ click on Headless Co**se part 1 & 2

05/15/2026

WW2 Baywood Park Training Area 2 Part Series

The attack on Pearl Harbor jump-started Morro Bay from a backwater village founded in 1872 into a wartime port and Pacific Theater troop training base. Morro Bay prepared G.I.s to island-hop their way across the Pacific securing island air bases close enough to launch direct strikes against the Japanese homeland.

To prepare the training base the Army Corp of Engineers built the harbor and Embarcadero infrastructure 1941-1943. During the war the Embarcadero and its T-piers thrived with military activity as Morro Bay beaches prepared G. I.s for the shores of Iwo Jima.

To see BOTH parts of this fascinating story head here: https://historicalmorrobay.org/estero-bay-news-2026/ and click on Baywood Park Training Area (2 parts)

04/28/2026

In the year before the attack on Pearl Harbor, the lives of the 30,000 residents of San Luis Obispo County were dramatically transformed as the entire nation mobilized in anticipation of potential war.

By the fall of 1941 soldiers began to arrive in large numbers. Contractors had built new soldier cities north of San Miguel at Camp Roberts and on the sandy hills west of Lompoc at Camp Cooke. The occasional buzz of civilian aircraft had been replaced by flights of B 25 bombers stationed in Santa Maria.

Read the rest of this story as featured in the Estero Bay News here:https://historicalmorrobay.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/54th-battalion.pdf

01/07/2026

When the Cloisters Was New

The Cloisters has been part of Morro Bay’s life and history since 1919. The place it has occupied is near the dunes next to Atascadero Beach north of the termination of Atascadero Road which extends Highway 41 west to the Embarcadero.

Read the full article that was published in the Estero Bay News here: https://historicalmorrobay.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Cloisters.pdf

12/30/2025

The Shell Shop is a Morro Bay institution prized by residents and visitors alike. It’s alive and well and continues to be in operation as a family business as it has since 1955. Proprietor David Thomas started selling shells from his father’s commercial fishing hauls at the budding age of ten.

Learn more in our full Estero Bay News article here:https://historicalmorrobay.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/The-Shell-Shop.pdf

12/15/2025

This image shows two political stars, Richard Nixon and Joe Giannini (left most). Both men went on to achieve great success in politics. Giannini outlived Nixon by 15 years and was universally admired when he died in 2009.

Full article here:https://historicalmorrobay.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Nixon.pdf

10/03/2025

For those that have not yet heard the sad news, Roger Castle (1945-2025), our friend and leader, passed away last week. Roger’s passing left a big hole in a lot of hearts, but he was the heart and soul of the Historical Society of Morro Bay.

Roger was one of the founders of the modern Society in 1993 and served ever since in roles ranging from legal affairs manager to Treasurer to President (2007-2012). As Collections Manager he devised our collection software for documenting, locating and searching for historical documents and artifacts. Most of all, he was our persistent motivator and monitor who kept us on an even keel.

In many ways Roger embodied what was good about Morro Bay. He was born and raised here and knew all the stories of his era, who to ask for information. He worked hard to share his love and knowledge about Morro Bay, putting a big chunk of the story in his first book with Gary Ream, Images of America: Morro Bay in 2006, followed by Morro Bay: Then and Now with updated photos by Garry Johnson. He was the one who always knew where in our files and storage systems to find the thing we wanted.

Roger’s wife Marge Castle and his sister Nancy Castle (our VP in 2002 and President 2013-2014!) were always big supporters of Roger’s but also of the Historical Society. With them, we look forward to keeping Roger’s spirit alive in what we do for the Society.

Address

695 Harbor Street
Morro Bay, CA
93442

Telephone

+18053992772

Website

http://historicalmorrobay.org/

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