In the 1880’s, a British land company with plans for a
wheat empire purchased much of the San Quintin area from the U.S. –
based International Land Company; at the time, ILC owned most of northern
Baja. In response to promises
of agricultural wealth, around a hundred English colonists purchased
subdivided land tracts from the parent company, planted wheat, and
constructed a gristmill. For
flour transportation, the English built a pier on inner Bahiá San Quintin
and began constructing a railway to link up with the Southern Pacific
tracks in California. Thirty km of track were laid -
including a rail causeway from the west bank of inner Bahiá San
Quintin – before the colony failed.
A 17-ton, six-wheeled locomotive still lies underwater at the mouth
of the bay, the remains of a loading accident for the aborted railway.
A drought devastated one of the first wheat harvests, and by
1900 all colonists had abandoned San Quintin.
Although individual farmers were economically ruined, the U.S. and
British land companies walked away all the richer, a pattern that would
recur several times in northern Baja.
Remains of the gristmill, railroad causeway, pier, and English
cemetery still stand along the perimeter of the inner bay.
The English names on the cemetery’s heavily weathered wooden
crosses have faded from sight, and more recent Mexican graves are
beginning to crowd out their neglected English counterparts.
In recent years a small community of gringo
retirees has moved into the area, leasing bay front property and building
homes. The most concentrated
area is Pedregal, where some houses are built of volcanic rock.
Around San Quintin these days are many lots “for sale”;
actually available only through lease or fideicomiso arrangements.
Primary
references:
BAJA HANDBOOK by Joe Cummings
THE MAGNIFICENT PENINSULA by Jack Williams
