Gorda, California

View of Pacific Ocean at Gorda, California.

The fresh springs in Gorda were used by Native American tribes. The first Europeans arrived in 1878, when a stagecoach stop was built in Gorda. The settlement expanded with the Gold Rush in nearby Manchester during the 1880s.[4] A post office operated at Gorda from 1893 to 1923, moving in 1910.[2] Government surveyor James M. Hill described the town in February, 1921 as "a small ranching settlement on the coast about midway between Monterey and San Luis Obispo."

Road-side services include a small hotel and cottages, restaurant, gas station, deli, espresso bar, and convenience store.[5] In 1979, the town attracted national attention after most of its public land was purchased by Kidco Limited Ventures, a corporation owned by four children all minors from Ramona, California, who were heirs of the family that owned the Cessna Aircraft company. [6] After funding the company, $500,000 was invested as a tax shelter to purchase the town's land. At the time, Dickie Cessna was 14 years old and the other three siblings were June (16), Bette (13) and Nene (11). [7] [8] After the Cessna children were paid for the filming rights, a dramatized version of the events was made and distributed by 20th Century. The film, Kidco, was released in 1984 as a comedy, directed by Ronald F. Maxwell and starring Scott Schwartz, Clifton James, Charles Hallahan, Maggie Blye, and Vincent Schiavelli.

The May 22, 2017, mud slide at Mud Creek covered Highway 1 for more than a quarter-mile.

On May 20, 2017, the largest slide in the highway's history at Mud Creek buried more than a quarter-mile of Highway 1 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of Gorda. The highway was closed for more than a year. This had a considerable negative economic impact for tourism between Monterey and Morro Bay. A CalTrans study concluded that rerouting the highway around the slide was preferred over other alternatives.[9][10] The only route in and out of Gorda beginning in the south was via a lengthy detour over the narrow, winding Nacimiento-Fergusson Road. On August 2, 2017, CalTrans decided to rebuild the highway over the slide instead of clearing it.[11] It was reopened on July 18, 2018 at a cost of $54 million.[12][13][14]

Gorda is derived from the Spanish word for "fat" or "well-fed".[15]

As of April 26, 2008, Gorda had the highest gasoline prices in the United States at $6.70 per gallon. This is due in part to the cost of a diesel generator that provides electricity to the gas station and town.[16][17][18]

Under the Köppen climate classification, "dry-summer subtropical" climates are often referred to as "Mediterranean". This climate zone has an average temperature above 10 °C (50 °F) in their warmest months, and an average in the coldest between 18 to −3 °C (64 to 27 °F). Summers tend to be dry with less than one-third the rainfall of the wettest winter month, and with less than 30 mm (1 in) of precipitation in a summer month.[19]

At the county level, Gorda is represented on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors by Supervisor Dave Potter.[21]

In the California State Legislature, Gorda is in the 17th Senate District, represented by Democrat John Laird, and in the 30th Assembly District, represented by Democrat Robert Rivas.[22]

In the United States House of Representatives, Gorda is in California's 20th congressional district, represented by Democrat Jimmy Panetta[23]