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First discovered by
Cabrillo in 1542, the San Quintin area was
settled by
Dominicans who acquired
salt from local briny
lagoons to supply their
missions during the
colonial times. In the
latter half of the 19th
century Russian
settlements
hundreds of miles north
would also acquire their
salt here. Russians and
Americans nearly hunted
the local sea otters to
extinction during the
same time period. They
are still seen on
occasion and remain a
protected species.
In the 1880’s, a British
land company with plans
for a wheat empire
purchased much of the
San Quintin area from
the U.S. – based
International Land
Company; at the time,
ILC owned most of
northern Baja. In
response to promises of
agricultural wealth,
around a hundred English
colonists purchased
subdivided land tracts
from the parent company,
planted wheat,
and constructed a
gristmill. For flour
transportation, the
English built a pier on
inner Bahiá San Quintin
and began constructing a
railway to link up with
the Southern Pacific
tracks in California.
Thirty km of track were
laid - including a rail
causeway from the west
bank of inner Bahiá San
Quintin – before the
colony failed. A 17-ton,
six-wheeled locomotive
still lies underwater at
the mouth of the bay,
the remains of a loading
accident for the aborted
railway.
A drought devastated one
of the first wheat
harvests, and by 1900
all colonists had
abandoned San Quintin.
Although individual
farmers were
economically ruined, the
U.S. and British land
companies walked away
all the richer, a
pattern that
would recur several
times in northern Baja.
Remains of the
gristmill, railroad
causeway, pier, and
English cemetery still
stand along the
perimeter of the inner
bay. The English names
on the cemetery’s
heavily weathered wooden
crosses have faded from
sight, and now stand as
silent reminders of a
poignant time in Baja
history. Today more recent
Mexican graves are
beginning to crowd out
their now almost forgotten and
neglected English
counterparts.
In recent years a small
but growing community of
Gringo retirees have
"discovered" and
moved into the San
Quintin area. The
most concentrated area
is Pedregal, where some
houses are built of
volcanic rock. New
arrivals are beginning
to look along the
Pacific coastal area
west of town in areas
like Lomas de San
Martin, with its
magnificent beaches,
fishing village and old
Mexico charm. Many lots “for
sale” are now available
through bank trust / fideicomiso ownership. |
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