Gorda, California

History

The fresh springs in Gorda were used by Native American tribes. By the time the first Europeans arrived in 1878, the Native Americans were no longer present. The settlement expanded with the gold rush in nearby Manchester during the 1880s. A stagecoach stop was built and a post office operated at Gorda from 1893 to 1923, moving in 1910.

Gorda was the location of a hippie commune from 1962 to 1968 on land owned by Amelia Newell.

Services

Roland H. Chivers was a heavy equipment mechanic and operator. He graded the site for the restaurant and made numerous improvement to the coastal property.

Road-side services include a small hotel and cottages, restaurant, gas station, deli, espresso bar, and convenience store. In 1979, the town attracted national attention after most of the land was purchased by Kidco Limited Ventures, a corporation owned by four minor children from Ramona, California who were heirs of the family that owned the Cessna Aircraft company. After funding the company, $500,000 was invested as a tax shelter to purchase the town's land. At the time, Dickie Cessna was 14 years old and the other three siblings were June (16), Bette (13) and Nene (11).

Mud Creek slide

On May 20, 2017, the largest slide in the Big Sur Coast Highway's history at Mud Creek buried more than a quarter-mile of Highway 1 1 mi southeast of Gorda. The highway was closed for more than a year. This had a considerable negative economic impact for tourism between Monterey and Morro Bay. A CalTrans study concluded that rerouting the highway around the slide was preferred over other alternatives. The only route in and out of Gorda beginning in the south was via a lengthy detour over the narrow, winding Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. On August 2, 2017, CalTrans decided to rebuild the highway over the slide instead of clearing it. It was reopened on July 18, 2018, at a cost of $54 million.

Etymology

Gorda is derived from the Spanish word for "fat" or "well-fed".

High fuel prices

Gorda is occasionally mentioned as having the highest gasoline prices in the United States. This is due in part to the cost of a diesel generator that provides electricity to the gas station and town. It's also due to the limited availability of fuel in the area and the distance from suppliers, who must deliver fuel to Gorda from as far as Santa Maria and Paso Robles, from 80 to away. In October 2021, the prices were $7.59 for unleaded and $8.49 for premium gas.

Geography

Under the Köppen climate classification, "dry-summer subtropical" climates are often referred to as "Mediterranean". This climate zone has an average temperature above 10 °C in their warmest months, and an average in the coldest between 18 and. Summers tend to be dry with less than one-third the rainfall of the wettest winter month, and with less than 30 mm of precipitation in a summer month.

Climate

| Jan record high F = 81 | Feb record high F = 85 | Mar record high F = 87 | Apr record high F = 98 | May record high F = 96 | Jun record high F = 102 | Jul record high F = 99 | Aug record high F = 101 | Sep record high F = 100 | Oct record high F = 100 | Nov record high F = 90 | Dec record high F = 75 | year record high F = 102 | Jan record low F = 27 | Feb record low F = 29 | Mar record low F = 27 | Apr record low F = 30 | May record low F = 35 | Jun record low F = 37 | Jul record low F = 41 | Aug record low F = 40 | Sep record low F = 39 | Oct record low F = 36 | Nov record low F = 28 | Dec record low F = 27 | year record low F = 27

Government

At the county level, Gorda is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Dave Potter.

In the California State Legislature, Gorda is in , and in .{{Cite web | access-date = February 2, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150201113744/http://statewidedatabase.org/gis/gis2011/index_2011.html | archive-date = February 1, 2015 | url-status = dead

In the United States House of Representatives, Gorda is in .

References

References

1. {{Cite gnis. 271364. Gorda
2. It is located {{cvt. 3. 901
3. Timothy Miller, The 60s Communes: Hippies and Beyond (Syracuse University Press, 1999), pp. 20–22.
4. [https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/eastbaytimes/name/roland-chivers-obituary?id=32587037 Roland Chivers]
5. [https://www.nytimes.com/1980/11/06/archives/life-is-mellow-in-a-town-owned-by-four-youths-came-here-to-be-left.html "Life Is Mellow in a Town Owned by Four Youths; Came Here to Be Left Alone Town Bought as Tax Shelter"] {{Webarchive. link. (2022-04-16 , ''The New York Times'', November 6, 1980, pA16)
6. link. (2022-04-16 , photo in ''Pittsburgh Press'', June 6, 1979, pA-6)
7. Kidco Isn't Kid Stuff— Children's Company Is Big Business Now", by Cilla Brown, ''Los Angeles Times'', April 22, 1979, pI-12
8. "'Mother Of All Landslides' In Big Sur Buries Section Of California's Highway 1".
9. (2 August 2017). "New road planned to traverse Big Sur slide".
10. Schmalz, David [http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/blogs/news_blog/caltrans-announces-plan-to-reopen-highway-at-mud-creek/article_551d3334-77ed-11e7-a4e3-d7755d0b83de.html Caltrans announces plan to reopen Highway 1 at Mud Creek] {{Webarchive. link. (2022-04-16)
11. "Caltrans sets new target date to reopen Highway 1 in Big Sur at Mud Creek".
12. "SR1 Road Information - California Highway Information".
13. Forgione, Mary. (July 18, 2018). "It's open! The last landslide closure on Highway 1 near Big Sur reopened to traffic earlier than expected". The Los Angeles Times.
14. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". Govt. Print. Off..
15. (31 March 2008). "$5.20 a Gallon? America's Priciest Gas". ABC News.
16. link. (2018-08-12 , Jesse McKinley, ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 12, 2008)
17. "NBCNews.com Video Player".
18. (27 October 2021). "Sky high gas prices in tiny town of Gorda make national headlines".
19. "Big Sur, California Köppen Climate Classification (Weatherbase)".
20. "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]].
21. "Monterey County Supervisorial District 5 Map (North District 5)". County of Monterey.
22. {{Cite GovTrack. CA. 20