The small town of Las Cruces was located just north of the historic Gaviota Pass on Highway 101 in Santa Barbara County. The town was originally established as a stagecoach stop at a Y intersection leading northwest toward the town of Lompoc or northeast around the Nojoqui grade into the Santa Ynez Valley and the town of Los Olivos.

As automobiles began arriving up the coast in the early 1900's a small service town sprang up to meet the needs of the motorists. This is what it looked like in late 1920's or early 1930's...



Later most of the stations disappeared and just this Chevron was left after Wolrd War II and into the 1960's. Today there are no remaining traces of this service town.



Just south of Las Cruces on the other side of the Gaviota Pass there was a store and service station at Gaviota Beach. This station had an ocean view looking across the highway at the Southern Pacific train trestle and the Gaviota Wharf.



This is what the Gaviota Pass looked like as the first horseless carriages arrived.


C Cragg