Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE UPHAM HOTEL
& COUNTRY HOUSE
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When the Spanish explorers arrived in Santa Barbara, they precipitated a flood of Spanish settlers
into the area. The Presidio (Royal Fort) was built in 1782 and the Santa Barbara Mission was built
in 1786. The Chumash Indians had welcomed Juan Cabrillo when he arrived in 1542, and they
actively worked with the new settlers around the mission, but this association would eventually cost
them dearly.
The Spanish settlers eventually pushed the Chumash from much of their land and many of
the Native Americans succumbed to unfamiliar diseases. The land was first given as land grants to
influential members of the Spanish then Mexican governments of Alta California. After the United
States won the Mexican-American War in 1848, Santa Barbara and the land around it was taken
over by the U.S. government.
The Gold Rush of 1849 and statehood for California in 1850 produced a new breed of settler.
People from eastern states came to California to seek their fortunes. Word traveled fast and more
easterners came west for the weather, as well as the economic opportunities.
Amasa (Macie) Lyman Lincoln, a cousin of President Lincoln, left Massachusetts in 1869 and
sailed to Panama with his wife, two children, and a family friend. They traveled overland to the Pa-
cific, and then took a steamer up the coast to San Francisco. After considering several options, they
finally settled in Santa Barbara, probably for health reasons. Macie wrote home to relatives about
a man that had lived for a long time and left Santa Barbara to die, but wanted to be brought back
there to be buried once he died. After his death, he was brought home for burial but came back to
life from the good weather.
Macie's wife Abbie noted that others arriving in Santa Barbara had very few choices of where to
stay. She promptly bought two lots in downtown for $300 and had a New England-style boarding
house built. It was not easy in early Santa Barbara. Redwood timbers sent by steamship had to be
floated to shore, as the city wharf had not been built yet. When finished, the Lincoln House offered
exceptional service for travelers.
New England architecture usually included a cupola, which is Italian for “dome.” The Lincoln
House cupola served a very practical purpose: The Chinese chef would climb up there and watch for
arriving steamships. His assistant on the dock would meet the ships and signal back to the chef as to
how many guests were coming. The chef would then know how many rooms to make ready, how
