page_title: Point Lobos
section_title: Industrial period
hierarchical_section_title: Point Lobos / History / Industrial period
caption_attribution_description: English: Label from a can of abalone produced by the Point Lobos Canning Company in 1905.
context_page_description: Point Lobos and the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is the "crown jewel" of California's 280 state parks. Australian-born landscape artist Francis McComas described the point as the "greatest meeting of land and water in the world." Adjoining Point Lobos is "one of the richest marine habitats in California." The ocean habitat is protected by two marine protected areas, the Point Lobos State Marine Reserve and Point Lobos State Marine Conservation Area. The sea near Point Lobos is considered one the best locations for scuba diving on the Monterey Peninsula and along the California coast.
  Point Lobos is just south of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, United States, and at the north end of the Big Sur coast of the Pacific Ocean. Point Lobos features a number of hiking trails, many alongside the ocean, and a smaller number of beaches. The historic Whalers Cabin, built by Chinese fishermen and later used by Japanese and Portuguese fishermen, is now a museum.
  Point Lobos nearly became the site of a town. In 1896, the Carmelo Land and Coal Company subdivided the land into 1,000 lots and named the new town "Carmelito".
context_section_description: In 1851 a Chinese sailor, Quock Junk, ran aground at Point Lobos. He was rescued by members of the Ohlone tribe. He was later joined by four or five other Chinese families who built cottages at Whaler's Cove. They became the first commercial fishermen at the point. From 1854–1858, a granite quarry was operated at what was later named Whaler's Cove. The granite was used to build the Old Monterey Jail, San Francisco Mint, portions of Fort Point, and buildings on the Navy's installation at Mare Island Naval Shipyard. In 1862, Antonio Victorine, a Portuguese whaler from the Azores, arrived at Point Lobos, following the whale population. About fifty to seventy family members lived at Whaler's Cove. The men spotted whales from Whaler's Knoll and then rowed off shore about 1 mile (1.6 km) in 24-foot boats to harpoon the whales. They towed the whales back to Pt. Lobos to fleece and harvest the blubber. They then towed the carcasses back out to sea.
  In 1874, a seam of low grade bituminous coal was found in upper Malpaso Canyon, southeast of Pt Lobos. On September 6, 1888, shortly after the patent for Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito was approved, almost all of the owners banded together to form the Carmelo Land and Coal Company. In exchange for shares in the company, they sold their interest in the land for $1. A mine was dug into the mountain near Malpaso Creek, and the coal was transported on ore carts via a tramway to Coal Chute Point, opposite the Chinese settlement at Whaler's Cove. The deep water allowed the workers to use the chute to deliver the coal directly to coastal steamers.
  In 1890, Emory and Bassett's heirs subdivided Point Lobos into 1,000 parcels. They begin selling lots for $25 to $50 to a new town they initially called Point Lobos City, but later renamed Carmelito. The lack of a bridge across the Carmel River and two national economic recessions during the 1890s combined to severely restrict sales. The outer portion of the point was reserved as the Point Lobos Park.
  In 1897, Alexander MacMillan Allan, a successful engineer from Pennsylvania, was hired to improve the coal mine operation. When he found the coal mine could not produce a profit, he purchased 640 acres (260 ha) of Point Lobos from the Carmelo Land and Coal Company in 1898. Marine biologist Gennosuke Kodani was already harvesting abalone from the area, a valuable delicacy in Japan. Allan partnered with him to build the Point Lobos Canning Company, which they operated until 1928. Allan decided to move the remainder of his family from Oakland to Point Lobos.
  Allan added a sand and gravel mining operation to the Abalone cannery. In 1899 he had a narrow gauge railroad built from nearby San Jose Beach to Coal Chute Point to transport sand for shipment by sea to glass manufacturers in Alameda. Sand mining continued through 1954. Allan established the Point Lobos Dairy at the mouth of San Jose Creek which was operated from 1903 until 1954. He also became a successful race track architect and built the Santa Anita, Tanforan and Bay Meadows race tracks. One member of the family sold a portion they inherited to form the Carmel Meadows subdivision.
caption: Label from a can of abalone produced by the Point Lobos Canning Company in 1905.
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