Things to do in
Santa Maria

Though Spanish explorers and missionaries visited California's Central Coast as far back as the 16th century, it wasn't until around 1870 that people began to settle the area along the banks of the Santa Maria River. In those days, the little pioneer community that had begun to flourish was known as Central City – city leaders changed the name to Santa Maria in 1865. For the first fifty or so years of existence, Santa Maria was a quiet farming community nestled between the rolling foothills...