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.

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From Mabel’s pen

“Old Rocky” – A Tale of the Mighty Hunter of the Lucias

Absolam Beasley — 'Old Rocky,' raised with an Indian tribe in the Rockies — the mighty hunter who kept the Lucias' lions honest.

All of Mabel’s writings →

Family spotlight

Maria Rush Plaskett 1791–

Maria Rush was born circa 1791 in Pennsylvania. She married Samuel Plaskett on 27 October 1813 in Clark County, Indiana. They had several children including William Lucas Plaskett (1818-1909). After Samuel's death in 1858, she inherited his estate per his will.…

Their story →

From the album

Sand Dollar Beach, the point, and Plaskett Rock from the ridge on a cloudless afternoon.

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More to explore

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Post Summit Named for One Of Early Big Sur Settlers

Post's hill is the very heart of Big Sur — named for W.B. Post, who landed at a coast whaling station in 1850 and built a ranch that outlived the century.

mabel article

Prized Possession of the Coast Are Its Big Trees

'My earliest memories are of playing house in a hollow redwood' — Mabel on the big trees, oldest of living things and the coast's proudest possession.

mabel article

Pt. Piedras Lighthouse Keeps Coast Shippers on Course

Spanish embargoes, shipwrecks on the white rocks, and the Fresnel light that finally kept the coast's shippers on course at Piedras Blancas.

mabel article

Quaint Big Sur Inn Is Work Of the ‘Master Builder’

Grandpa Deetjen's hand-built Norwegian inn at Castro Canyon — rustic rooms, record concerts, and the 'Master Builder' himself.

mabel article

Saddle Rock Ranch Is Now Memorial to Coast Pioneer

Who was Julia Pfeiffer Burns? The ranchwoman who shod horses and roped with the best — remembered in the park at Saddle Rock.

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San Simeon Rancho Story Is Told by Mabel Plaskett

Cabrillo's 'Bay of Sardines,' a whaling captain's store, the Hearst boys at play — four centuries of San Simeon in one telling. Sebastian's Store was 102 years old when she wrote it.

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