Everyone knows the phrase. Goleta the Good Land. It can be seen repeatedly driving around town on license plate holders and bumper stickers.
The phrase has also become extremely popular with entrepreneurs, proud to represent their hometown. There’s the Goodland Barber shop, Goodland BBQ, Goodland Cleaning, Goodland Guns, Goodland Paralegal, Goodland Trucking, Goodland Yoga Studio, Goodland Homes, Goodland Plumbing and many more….
But how many people know where the phrase really came from?
Most locals that have been around a while would say that the phrase comes from the classic book written by the late great Walker A. Tompkins. It could be said that is correct…. to a degree. The epitome of Goleta history books, the Goleta history bible if you will, was first published in 1966 and Walker chose to call his collection of local history stories “Goleta the Good Land”. But why? Did Walker just make that name up? If you can find a copy of Goleta the Good Land and read it, you will learn where that phrase came from in the first few pages.
The phrase actually originated way back in 1769. A group of Spanish explorers were on an expedition to find the Monterey Bay that another explorer had seen and described over a century earlier. Led by Gaspar De Portola, the group had come up from Loreta, Mexico and were following the coast north on foot and horseback. Ever since they passed through Malibu, the very friendly natives had insisted on entertaining these strange looking foreigners every day and night. So they were exhausted.
As the group came out of what would later be called Santa Barbara, following what would later be Hollister Avenue, they made their way through thick oak forests and tall native grasses. Then the Goleta Valley opened up before their tired eyes.
In the distance they saw a very lush area and a large bay with an island in the middle of it. The island and the banks of the bay were covered with villages teeming with natives and the whole area was green and covered with trees.
The expedition had several members that were keeping daily journals, but it was a Franciscan priest, Juan Crespi, that wrote in his journal about this place, ” It is all good land, with much grass, and well grown with live oaks, alders, and willows, and many Castilian roses.”
He continues, “The whole country along the road, as well as that which is to be seen from the camp, is extremely delightful, abounding in pasture and covered with trees, giving signs of its being very fertile land, capable of producing whatever one might wish to plant.” He also calls the Goleta Valley the best spot “Of all that we have come across.” Pretty high praise coming from a guy who just walked through all of Southern California!
So why did Crespi think the Goleta area was such a good land? Better than anything he had seen from San Diego to here? It was because of the fertile land, the plentiful water and food sources, the beaches protected by the Channel Islands, the level terrain and of course the climate. Natural beauty and an overall pleasant place to live. We still have some of those things today.
But the good land is changing. The most pleasant place to live on the coast of California is very, very popular. The politicians and business leaders will never be able to build enough housing for all the people that want to live here. Today, when you Google “why is Goleta called the good land” you might find real estate websites raving about the shopping, the housing, the restaurants, the movie theaters. Or maybe a travel site talking about the industries, UCSB and how the nickname came from its years as a fruit-growing region. But none of that even existed when Crespi wrote that line.
Walker Tompkins touches on the rapid growth and development way back in 1966. The last page of Goleta the Good Land is a plea for future generations to protect and preserve the natural beauty that makes Goleta the good land. Walker wrote, “It will be a difficult struggle, this unending feud between greed and beauty”. Boy, you got that right Walker…More than half a century later, we are still locked in that battle. Hopefully, we will be able to balance the natural beauty and the wants and needs of the people. Time will tell….
So while Walker Tompkins didn’t actually invent the phrase, the Good Land, he definitely popularized it, as he did for so much of our local history. And for that we should all be very grateful. If he never had gone through the ancient writings of Juan Crespi and discovered that line, Goleta would never have been called the Good Land. So thank you Walker, for all your years of research and colorful writing. You made Goleta a Better Land! Hopefully we can follow your lead and maintain it…