One family. More than a century on the Big Sur coast.

Stories, people, and places of the Plasketts — told in their own words.

Boat Day at the Plaskett landing, restored & colorized from the family’s photographs →

Today’s featured story

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Bears, Cougars, and Wild Animals of Pacific Valley

Winter in Pacific Valley meant bears in the stock pens and cougars in the hills.

Read the story →

From Mabel’s pen

Tony Fontes – The Story of a Rugged, Fun-Loving Horseman

His forefathers heard the first Padres sing at San Antonio Mission; Tony Fontes grew up to be the coast's rugged, fun-loving horseman.

All of Mabel’s writings →

Family spotlight

William Plaskett (d. 1748) 1698–1748

William Plaskett, Quaker mason who immigrated from England to Trenton, New Jersey circa 1732. ENGLISH ORIGINS (per Patricia Andersen research): Parish records from Whitehaven, Cumberland, England show: "Feb. 17, 1698, William, son of John Plascatt of Whitehaven." This William would be the right ag…

Their story →

From the album

Ridge-trail panorama: Highway 1 below, the point and Plaskett Rock beyond, and the coast fading south into haze.

See the story behind this photograph → · Browse the album

More to explore

mabel article

History of Coast Schools

Part one of her history of the coast schools — starting with the Redwood School of 1878, built of notched logs without a single nail.

mabel article

History of Coast Schools Concluded

Part two: Pacific Valley School — kept since 1880 on the east side of the highway at Plaskett Creek — and the teachers who came to the edge of the world.

mabel article

History of Early Orchards Linked to Luther Burbank

Luther Burbank's cuttings came down the coast in 1898 with Linwood Mitchell — and the mountain orchards still bear the evidence.

mabel article

Huge, Spouting Whales a Common Sight Along Coast

Every October the gray whales stream south past the coast to calve in Baja — a migration the coast families set their calendars by.

mabel article

Jaime d’Angula- A Symbol of Man’s Right to Freedom

The strangest of all the Big Sur characters: Jaime de Angulo — Paris-born doctor, cowboy, linguist — riding the ridges as a symbol of man's right to be free.

mabel article

Jolon Remembered as Thriving Community on Camino Real

Portolá camped there in 1769; a century later Jolon was the thriving crossroads of the Camino Real — saloons, hotels, and fiestas three days long.

232 stories · 1762 family members & friends · 678 places — and the home page changes every few days. Come back soon.