The Italian-Swiss Dairymen of San Luis Obispo County, Calif.

YEARBOOK OF THE ASSOCIATION OF PACIFIC COAST GEOGRAPHERS Volume 1935 The Italian-Swiss Dairymen of San Luis Obispo County. Calif. H. F. EAUP University of California at Los Angeles (SEE MAP, PAGE 17) A number of Italian-Swiss emigrant laborers began to settle in San Luis Obispo county about 1886.1 They came almost entirely from the Canton Ticino, and the movement continued until the earJy part of the twentieth century. The migration was directly induced by the establishment of a single dairy ranch, owned by George and E. W. Steele, and located on Rancho Corral de Piedra. The population of the region was already well mixed, with many Mexicans, north Europeans, and a slowly increasing number of native Americans . A dairy ranch among these people was distinctly a pioneers enterprise , for San Luis Obispo county had been producing principally wheat, range cattle, and sheep, and the county was much too distant from consuming markets to justify the production oí butter and cheese. There was no rail transportation to San Fransico , the nearest center where such products might find a market, but by 1875, the problem had been solved by means of coastwise steamers which made regular trips to the city. In spite of apparent handicaps, the Steele Brothers dairy grew until it became the second largest in the' state, with a herd of 1,400 cows, chiefly American stock crossed with English breeds. Ranch employees, especially milkers , were in demand. The firm of Steele Brothers had previously owned a dairy in Marin county, where the Italian-Swiss colony was occupied Avith the production of wines, but a number of the men were also ranch employees. Steele Brothers therefore drew upon Marin county for many of their milkers, and there is a close relationship between the ItalianSwiss families now living in Marin county, and those in San Luis Obispo county, although after 1880 the immigrants came directly to San Luis from Switzerland. The region from which most of them came is the VaI Maggia, one of a number of deep valleys on the southern slope of the Alps, in the Lake Maggiore region, noted for its emigration during the nineteenth century. The valley receives exceptionally heavy fall and spring rains, sometimes to the amount of eighty inches per year, and since it is sheltered from the north, its temperatures are those of the Mediterranean . It is, however, much more humid than the Koppen classification Cs would indicate. As a result, the valley flopr is essentially agricultural in character, producing chestnuts below 6,000 feet, and vineyards, mulberries, (3) and maize. The vegetation is predominantly non-Mediterranean and the olive and other southern plants are not grown extensively. At higher levels, goats are raised, and cattle raising is of special importance . Most of the small villages of the Maggia have specialized in their products and in the occupations of their people. Someo/ with 266 residents in 1920, raises cattle, and its agriculture is chiefly that of the vineyard. This village sent many of its people to California. Solduno, a village of 538 people in 1920, located on the delta of the Maggia, has many vineyards and fields of asparagus. The town of Gordola, near Locarno, with 626 people in 1920, produces chestnuts and cattle ; many of its inhabitants have migrated to San Luis Obispo . Two villages, Peccia, population 217, and Lavizzara, manufacture a soft cheese similar to Gorgonzola . Most of the product is consumed locally, under the ' name of formaggio dolce or formaggio della paglia» The latter, name is derived from the custom óf packing the cheese in straw for ripening and for sale. It has been estimated that a total of 3,000 imigrants has come to California from such villages.8 The VaI Maggia alone lost 44% of its population from 1850 to 1930, and one district near Frasco lost 60%. Between 1881 and 1930, the total number of emigrants from the valley was over 25,000. The immediate cause of the migration was excessive division of the landholdings ; in other words, a density of population out of proportion to the cultivated land, which constitutes only 12% of Canton Ticino. The emigration was not altogether without its advantages to...