Grover Beach

The city of Grover Beach is nestled in the dunes of the California coastline in San Luis Obispo County. In 1842, Jose Ortego received a Mexican land grant and made the first claim on the area. Ortego sold his 8,838 acres to Isaac Sparks in 1867, and Sparks later sold half to John Price. Price sold his share to Dwight William Grover for $22,982.20 in gold. By 1887, Grover had filed with the county and founded the Town of Grover. Developers John F. Beckett in 1892 and Horace V. Bagwell in 1935 followed. Growing gradually, the city incorporated in 1959, changed its name to Grover Beach in 1992, and received Amtrak rail service in 1996--a permanent connection to the surrounding communities and commerce. The city has come full circle, from D. W. Grover's dream to reality.

Author Anita Shower arrived in Grover City in 1974 and started keeping a journal while taking photographs of the area that tugged at her heart. Shower has been a longtime local newspaper columnist, as well as a radio and television personality, community activist, and volunteer. Gathering early images of the city through the years, she has combined these pieces of the city's history with generous donations from the community, which united to contribute prized photographic reflections for this book.