The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum (SBMM) invites community members to learn the history of Stearn’s Wharf, told by Santa Barbara author and historian Neal Graffy, Thursday, September 19, 7 p.m.
The program, entitled “Opening the Door to Santa Barbara: John Peck Stearns and His Shipyard,” is part of the SBMM’s Maritime Distinguished Speaker Series.
The talk is free for members of the SBMM Navigators Circle; $10 for all other members and $20 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased here.
Graffy tells the story of John Peck Stearns, the founding of Stearns Wharf, and the important role both played in the development of Santa Barbara.
He will talk about Stearns’ life and the pivotal events that led to the creation of his iconic wharf. Although Santa Barbara already had a wharf, it was too short to accommodate large ships that needed to anchor half a mile or more offshore.
Stearns and other lumberyard owners would throw their lumber overboard and have to gather it on the beach when the tide brought it ashore. Traders would transfer their cargo to smaller boats and then unload them on the small wharf.
The fee for this service significantly increased the cost of the goods. Passengers who went ashore had to endure the same hardships and costs.
Stearns offered to extend the wharf, but the owners refused, so he solved the problem by building his own wharf, which reached deep enough into the water to allow cargo and passenger ships to dock easily and safely and conduct their business.
On September 16, 1872, the first ship docked at Stearns’ new wharf – a crucial moment in Santa Barbara’s history.
“John Peck Stearns and his wharf truly opened the door to Santa Barbara,” said Neal Graffy. “It marked the beginning of a new era in which the city could flourish through improved trade and travel, connecting its residents with distant shores through unprecedented
Ease.”
Lecture attendees will also have the opportunity to view SBMM’s newest exhibit, “Majestic California Piers,” which includes 31 photographs by Bill Dewey and Dan Merkel depicting famous piers throughout California, from San Simeon to Oceanside, including Stearns Wharf.
The show runs from September 5th to January 19th.
The Santa Barbara Maritime Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit sbmm.org or call 805-962-8404.
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John Peck Stearns. Photo courtesy.
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Stearns Wharf 1872. Photo courtesy.
