82 POINT LOBOS RESERVE 



Another type of mining at Point Lobos was the quarrying of granite. 

 The old quarry remains as evidence that a great amount of rock was taken 

 out. The old United States Mint in San Francisco and the jail at Cclton 

 Hall, Monterey, were built from Point Lobos granite, according to the 

 oldtimers. 



A little prospecting and mining for gold at Point Lobos caused a flurry 

 now and then. As early as 1863, the San Carlos Gold Mining Company was 

 incorporated by prominent citizens with capital stock of $50,000 to develop 

 gold properties there, but it was not successful. In 1907, prospectors were 

 given legal permission to enter Point Lobos and explore for mineral wealth. 

 That was the last recorded attempt at such exploitation. 



The silver treasures of the sea had more significance. It has been men- 

 tioned that the Indians fished at Point Lobos. Later explorers also fished 

 there. Chinese, among them some who mined for coal, went to Point Lobos 

 to fish. The United States Surveyor General's 1885 map of the Rancho 

 San Jose y Sur Chiquito shows several Chinese fishermen's huts near the 

 beach of Carmelo Cove, as well as one just south of the present Reserve 

 boundary. 



Japanese fishermen were brought to Point Ijobos later, in the 1890 's, 

 to help develop an abalone canning industry here. LTsing long hooks and 

 nets, the Japanese at first fished mainly near the shore in water not more 

 than 10 feet deep. Later, diving suits were used, both from the shore and 

 from boats in deeper water. 



The abalone cannery was established upon the site of the old whaling 

 station, near the foot of the quarry cliffs. Heaps of abalone shells, brilliant 

 in their varied colors, remain today as reminders that many cases of canned 

 abalone must have been shipped to the Orient, for that is where most of 

 them found their way. The packing of abalone here came to an end in 

 1928. Cannery buildings which remained were torn down by the state 

 authorities, after acquisition of the Reserve, to restore conditions as they 

 had been. 



Other advantages of the region received attention. The coal company 

 subdivided part of Point Lobos in 1890-91, when an attempt was made 

 to establish a residential and resort community known as Point Lobos City, 

 and later as Carmelito, fronting Carmelo Cove, with 25-foot and 50-foot 

 lots. Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson was the owner of one of these and her 

 sister, Mrs. Sanchez, was also an owner here. Quite a number of lots were 

 sold, but the projected village did not become a reality. Fortunately, 

 Carmelito remained a ghost town. A rigid gridiron pattern of streets was 

 laid out, as shown by the revised plat of the town filed on May 29, 1891. 

 The main street was called Bassett Avenue, and other streets bore the 

 names of Emery, Doble, and Baggett. In the map filed, a reservation 

 marked Point Lobos Park was indicated on the outmost cypress point. 



In 1896, Joseph Emery met A. M. Allan in Oakland, and interested him 

 in Point Lobos. Allan possessed considerable practical knowledge of coal 

 mining, and that was a factor which brought him here. He purchased the 

 properties of the coal company in the Point Lobos area, including about 

 640 acres, on January 14, 1898. 



Allan held the land in his name (which appears in the records both as 

 Allan and Allen) after a series of suits with various parties, including 

 members of the Carmelo Land and Coal Company and the Monterey 



