Thomas Wallace More. He went by T. Wallace More because there was another guy in town named Thomas Moore, but T. Wallace was the go getter of the two, he got stuff done.
In the summer of 1874, More completed the construction of a 900 foot wharf just east of the mouth of the Goleta slough. This had a positive economical impact for Goleta, making it a coastal port of call. This gave it equal status to Santa Barbara in the shipping industry.
In the summer of 1874, More completed the construction of a 900 foot wharf just east of the mouth of the Goleta slough. This was a big deal economically for Goleta, making it a coastal port of call, which gave it equal status to Santa Barbara in the shipping industry.
At this time in California’s history, steam ships were the primary way to travel. Roads along the coast were spotty at best, and the railroad had yet to connect all the way through. For cargo and travelers alike, the sea was the highway. Locally, there were landings at Carpenteria, Summerland, Santa Barbara, Gaviota and Port Harford, near San Luis ObispoMore’s decision to build the pier was one of necessity. The Goleta farmers were producing lots of merchandise that needed to be shipped out in a timely manner, and they needed more equipment to keep up with increase in production. Stearns wharf in Santa Barbara was too small and up to 30 miles away for some of the ranches. Additionally, More and his brothers had begun mining the asphalt flow that was on their property, and the demand was great, especially since the first streets in San Francisco were being paved with asphalt from the More ranch. Being a man of action, T. Wallace chose a location on his coastal bluffs between an artesian spring and his asphalt mine, dug out two access roads, one on the east and one on the west side of the landing site, and built a 900 foot long, 35 foot wide wharf with a two story warehouse on the end.
The Goleta farmers were thriving, and the county awarded More a franchise for the wharf, with rates identical to those of John Stearns in Santa Barbara. The farmers brought their livestock, lima beans, honey, walnuts, barley and other products to the new wharf via More Ranch Road from Hollister Ave. Over the following years, the More ranch would ship over 32,000 tons of asphalt from the pier T. Wallace built, making his investment very lucrative. When the steamers were a mile from the wharf, they would sound their whistle and the wharfinger would hurry down with a horse and cart, no matter the weather or the time of day. When the fog was thick, the wharfinger would sound a hand cranked siren to help the ships find the pierhead.
