GUADALUPE, CA

The current City of Guadalupe was founded in 1843 as one of the earliest communities on the Central Coast. At the time of its founding, it was known as Rancho de Guadalupe and the land was first obtained as a part of a Mexican land grant. The area developed economically through cattle ranching, the dairy industry and later, vegetable farming.

Guadalupe is a small, agriculture based community situated approximately ten miles west of Santa Maria on historic Highway 1 in Santa Barbara County. It is an old city, surrounded by large vegetable fields. Many of the city buildings were constructed around the turn of the century and the earliest burial in the city cemetery was in 1852. The city has a current population of 5,700 which is 84% Hispanic, many of whom speak only Spanish and are agriculture workers. It is a poor community with the lowest per capita income in the county. As of 2001, the Guadalupe labor force totaled 2,420 and included 35% in agriculture, 15% in retail, 13% manufacturing, and the next highest at 5.6% was the business and repair workforce. From a growth standpoint, the city is basically landlocked, surrounded by the ocean and sand dunes on one side, and private agricultural land on the others. There are currently only 212 privately owned acres available within the city limits for housing, small business and industrial development opportunities.

Guadalupe has experienced a continual economic decline since the early 1980’s and is in need of a meaningful plan to avoid continued serious economic distress. Many retail businesses are on the verge of collapse and need a new marketing strategy to be able to survive. There is a general feeling of "hopelessness" on the part of many business people and residents, along with anger at local politicians who are faced with the Herculean task of changing a community’s attitude about itself. Although it will not "eliminate" economic distress, by improving the economic climate in the city through linkages to other regional cultural tourism efforts, coupled with increased local resident patronage of downtown businesses, new opportunities can be created which could alleviate some of the "distress" now associated with the poorest city in the county.

The community has three distinct populations made up of the long term residents, many of whose ancestors go back to the earliest settlers and Native Americans; the farm workers who are permanent residents, speak little English and seldom participate in city activities; and the newcomers who purchased homes in the city ten plus years ago as a result of the lowest housing prices in the Santa Maria Valley. These recent residents are primarily higher income Anglo’s who have little connection with the city or it’s history, and do their shopping and recreating elsewhere.

HISTORY

Guadalupe has had a widely varied history, at one time being known as the wildest city on the Central Coast with widespread gambling, drug usage, drinking and prostitution as the primary economic stimuli. The population is extremely diverse with Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese, German, Swiss/Italian, and now Hispanic residents contributing to the current culture and flavor of the community. As a result of the railroad coming through the town, Guadalupe was the principal agricultural center of north county, at one time providing one-third of all lettuce grown in California. Although it is still primarily an agricultural community, the crops have changed to include lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and other vegetables. However, it is no longer the central distribution point for the area, and communities such as Santa Maria have surpassed it in growth by almost 2000 percent. Basically, Guadalupe has remained at a standstill, much as it was 50 years ago, while the rest of the county has grown at an astounding pace.

Although some see this lack of growth or change as a detriment, we believe that in today’s tourism market, it should be viewed as a true opportunity. The city is unique in that it has retained the small city charm of the 1940’s and 1950’s, with a central main street reflecting the heritage of bygone years. The challenge is to identify the positive aspects of the city and "sell" that image to the residents to create such an interesting and exciting vision of the past that it clearly identifies the future and motivates the community to positive action.