October 1869: RD Cook’s house, the first house to be built in Central City, is completed and ready for occupancy. It was 24 feet long and 16 feet wide with one room upstairs and one downstairs.

October 18, 1870: Theodore LeRoy assumes the debts of the Estudillo family in exchange for a trust deed covering the homestead in San Leandro and the Guadalupe Rancho in Santa Barbara County.

October 12, 1882: Hesperian Lodge # 264 F. & AM was chartered with Addison Henry Orr as Chief Petty Officer.

October 5, 1894: Twenty-five women gathered at Mollie Smith’s house to inaugurate the Ladies Literary Society. The club, now known as the Minerva Club, is the oldest operating women’s club in California.

October 7, 1898: The Minerva Library Club changes its name to the Ladies Literary Club.

October 15, 1899: completion of work on the Union Sugar complex in Betteravia.

October 1901: After drilling approximately 1,540 feet, workers finally found oil at Careaga # 3, constituting the first oil strike in the valley.

October 1, 1904: Reuben Hart inaugurates a new water supply system with a factory located half a mile south of downtown (now Block 600 of South Broadway).

October 24, 1904: A post office is established at Orcutt with George Ferguson as the town’s first postmaster.

October 24, 1905: The first special meeting of the board of directors was called by President Alvin W. Cox to consider authorizing the rides. The title “President” has since been replaced by “Mayor” and “Marshal of the city” has since been replaced by “Chief of the police”.

October 1908: A cornerstone is laid for what will soon be the Carnegie Library. Construction was completed the following year.

October 1911: Dean Laughlin is appointed Fire Chief, receiving $ 20 per month. Firefighters made $ 2 an hour fighting any fire in the city.

October 5, 1918: Mildred Hawley, Mattie Walker, Maud Walker, and Elsie Smith became the first women employed by Union Sugar when they came from Sacramento to work as senior laboratory chemists.

October 1928: The first meeting of the Minerva Library Club takes place in its new pavilion located at the corner of Lincoln and Boone streets.

October 1928: The Hancock College of Aeronautics, a non-profit educational institution, is established at Hancock Field by Captain G. Allan Hancock, president and sole owner of the company. The school, located on 80 acres of land purchased from George Tunnell, opened with five planes.

October 23, 1928: A large crowd gathered at Hancock Field for an air show. The military, navy and private planes all participated in the event and thousands of spectators were there to see the performance of the pioneer planes.

October 28, 1928: The Minerva Library Club opens its new club house to the general public.

October 1, 1934: The first meeting of the municipal council of Santa Maria takes place in the new building of the town hall.

October 3, 1937: The Japanese Union Church, located at 219 Mary Drive, is consecrated.

October 28, 1938: Congratulations poured in from the state capital of Minnesota to Edward Trebon on the opening of his newspaper, “The Courier”. The cost of publishing the newspaper was $ 2 per year.

October 5, 1941: The United States Army activates Camp Cooke, named after Major General Phillip St. George Cooke. The base was used during World War II as a training site for armor and infantry.

October 30, 1941: Santa Maria Gas Company merges with Southern Counties Gas Company (now Southern California Gas Company).

October 15, 1942: The first women are employed at the Hancock School of Aeronautics when the Selective Service begins to make inroads into male civilian personnel, all of whom are eligible for conscription.

October 1944: The Studio Theater, located in the 200 block of East Main Street, opened.

October 21, 1944: Opening of the Goleta prisoner of war camp, with a capacity of 250 people. The prisoners carried out agricultural work in the community.

October 30, 1945: The US government announces the end of shoe rationing.

October 11, 1946: 32,000 visitors gathered in Santa Maria for the two-day air show, which brought Corrigan and the elite of the US Air Corps to town “Wrong-Way”.

October 3, 1948: Official inauguration of the community church of Guadalupe.

October 21, 1952: There was a train accident in Guadalupe.

October 19, 1954: The Minerva Library Club changes its name to Minerva Club.

October 4, 1958: Cooke Air Base was designated as Vandenberg Air Base in honor of the late General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, Second Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

October 1959: Thirty-seven people meet in Tom and Meg Smith’s living room to found the Santa Maria Civic Theater. In less than six weeks, the group’s first song, “The Tender Trap”, was produced with Allan Hancock as the group’s first patron.

October 1, 1960: The new Buddhist temple, located at 1072 Olivera Street in Guadalupe, is inaugurated.

October 23, 1960: Bethel Lutheran Church’s first service was held in a closed patio at Mrs. and Mrs. Clinton Cromwell’s home.

October 25, 1960: Altrusa International, Inc. of Santa Maria is chartered.

October 20, 1963: Oakley School is dedicated to Cary Calvin Oakley.

October 16, 1965: The Orcutt Mineral Society hosted its first annual Gem and Mineral Show, “Rainbow of Gems” at the Veterans Memorial Hall.

October 19, 1965: JC Penney held his grand opening ceremony at the Santa Maria Mall.

October 3, 1966: The city council approved the first phase of Preisker Park and approved a deal with the state for a grant of $ 57,000.

October 4, 1967: Beth-El Temple, located at 1501 East Alvin, held dedication services.

October 6, 1968: Elks Lodge 1538 moves into its new lodge at 1309 North Bradley Road.

October 7, 1969: The city council approved an ordinance for the development of Central Plaza, which would include a high-rise apartment structure for the elderly and a low-cost housing unit. The Plaza was to be completed in May 1970.

October 8, 1972: Buena Vista Park, the oldest park in Santa Maria, was consecrated as a historical monument.

October 1974: The Dudley Hoffman Mortuary moves from Church Street and Lincoln Street to its current location on East Stowell Road.

October 4, 1974: Dedication ceremonies were held at the new Hesperian Lodge temple at 700 Lakeview Road, a property purchased from Elwin Mussell.

October 7, 1975: The site of the city’s first water supply plant was consecrated as a landmark for the city of Santa Maria. The fire siren, which stood over the water tank, is on display at the Santa Maria Valley Historical Museum.

October 1977: The city council passed ordinance # 77-923, repealing the section of the city code that allowed parking meters.

October 2, 1978: The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce took action to obtain copyright “Santa Maria Style Barbecue”.

October 17, 2000: The ground was mown on Thompson and Mehlschau Roads for the new Nipomo High School.

October 6, 2002: The dedication of the New Beginnings Community Church took place.

October 2004: Robin Ventura, a graduate of Righetti High School, announces his retirement from professional baseball.

October 31, 2005: DeBernardi Brothers Dairy, the last dairy in Santa Barbara County, retired some 400 cows. The dairy, located on East Main Street, was founded by Gilio DeBernardi in 1946.

October 3, 2011: Mayor Lavagnino announced that he would not stand for re-election in 2012.