Andrew Molera State Park: Slice of Heaven Part Two

Filed in archive on August 4, 2006

Three tribes of indigenous peoples shared the Big Sur area before the onset of Whiteman's plagues, and the decline and subsequent extinction of their customs and cultures. The Ohlones, Esselen, and Salinan groups were living in places like Andrew Molera statepark long before it was called by that white man's title.




The scoop on Andrew Molera is that he was a land owner extraordinare in the Salinas Valley circa 1920's. His big claim to fame would literally change the landscape of California forever. One year he made the executive decision to change from harvesting sugar beets and instead begin harvesting artichokes.




Molera "The Father of the California Artichoke" was so successful supplanting sugar beets with this "new" vegetable that within a few years the entire valley had also switched over.

However wealthy he was, and no matter what ingenious agricultural techniques he initiated, his brightest achievement in my humble opinion is having his name be selected to represent this slice of heaven. And I really, really love artichokes. That tells you how special this place is and how soon you need to get down here and go for a walk and swim.

ER Harris