| 1492 - Christopher Columbus lands in the
Bahamas and discovers the New World. |
| 1497 - First records of olive
trees being sent to the Caribbean and Mexico; the trees were from
Olivares, near Seville, Spain. |
| 1503 - Father Valencia arrives
in Mexico City with the "Twelve apostles"; they plant
many olive trees at the Franciscan "college" (monastery)
there. |
| 1560 - Jesuit missionaries
start to work in Spanish America. |
| 1697 - Father Salvatierra
founds first of Jesuit missions at Loreto in Baja California. |
| 1767 - King Carlos III of
Spain dismissis the Jesuit order and instructs the Franciscan
order to assume their duties. |
| 1769 - Governor Portola and
Father Junipero Serra land on the shores of Alta California; they
found Mission San Diego de Alcala and in succeeding years lay
foundations of future agriculture, including cattle, wheat, fruit,
and vegetables. |
| ca.1775 to 1780 (Exat date
unknown) - First olive trees planted in the mission orchards,
probably at San Diego, San Jose, Santa Clara, and others. |
| 1776 - American Revolution succeeds; United
States founded. |
| 1803 - First written record of olive oil
being pressed in California; Father Fermin Lasuen mentions it
in a report to his superiors. |
| 1822 - Mexico breaks with Spain and becomes
independent. |
| 1834 - Mexican government secularizes
the missions, annexes the land and all its contents to State;missionaries
removed from office and no longer in charge of mission lands. |
| ca.1830 to 1840 - Commercial orchards
are started in and around Los Angeles; William Wolfskill is first
to grow oranges on a large scale; Jean Louis Vignes lays out vineyards
and makes wine commercially; both Wolfskill and Vignes used cuttings
from the defunct San Gabriel mission's trees and vines. |
| 1841 - Gold found in Coloma; California's
population rises from a few hundred to over 100,000 in two years. |
| 1850 to 1885 - Many Italian immigrants
come to California, particularly to Calaveras County. |
| 1851 - First commercial nurseries started
in California. |
| 1854 - California State Agricultureal
Society is chartered. |
ca. 1855 - Great wealth from mining and
other businesses stimulates development of
Sacramento and San Francisco; florists and nurseries expand, providing
necessary basis for later extensive commercial fruit growing. |
| 1862/63 - Unprecedented floods in the
Central Valley destroy the cattle industry, which is replaced
by wheat farming as primary large-scale agricultureal activity. |
| 1868/69 - First Manzanillo and Sevillano
olive trees imported from Spain. |
| 1880s - Over 150 nurseries now in California;
many sell olive trees; movement to change to different types of
olive trees for flavor, yeild, and other qualities; eventually
almost 300 varieties are imported from the Mediterranean countries. |
| 1890s - Wheat no longer successful; California's
agriculture shifts to horticulture; fruit and vegetables. |
| 1899 - Ripe olives successfully preserved
in sealed metal cans; more olive companies begin canning. |
| ca. 1900 - Nurseries no longer carry most
of the fancy olive varieties; only standard varieties now; California
olive oil can no longer compete with imported oil; industry declines;
table olives grow in popularity. |
| 1914 to 1918 - First World War. |
| 1919 - First of several epidemics of botulism
traced to California canned ripe olives; industry devastated. |
| 1924 - Last outbreak of botulism due to
California canned ripe olives. |
| 1924/25 - Combined research by federal,
state, and private scientists leads to safer methods of canning
olives. |
| 1929 - Great Depression and financial
panic begin. |
| 1933 - First federal marketing order issued
for California canned ripe olives. |
| 1936 - Spanish Civil War begins; olive
oil and table olives not prepared or exported; new olive oil businesses
start in California, using Mission olives. |
| 1939 - Second World War starts; traces
of the depression remain in the U.S.; exports of olive oil from
Italy cease. |
| 1939 - Opportunities expanded to manufacture
olive oil in California. |
| 1945 - Second World War ends. |
| 1947 - Spain and Ilaly resume olive trade;
California olive oil business settles back into former pattern;
many companies engendered by the war close. |
| ca. 1950 - First stirrings of environmental
concerns; disposition of wastewater now seen as a problem for
all food processors; it is a worse problem for olive canners because
they use more salt than any other processor. |
| 1960s - Completion of California Water
Project in the Central Valley. |
| 1965 - New federal marketing order promulgated;
still currently in effect. |
| ca. 1970 - Consolidation of olive canning
companies begins, partially driven by high cost of complying with
environmental laws; number of firms drops from twenty-eight to
eleven. |
| ca. 1985 - New wave of specialized California
olive oil makers begins, using unused varieties of olive trees,
often imported from Italy or France. |
| 1999 - Consolidation of California's olive
processing companies continues; only two campanies left. |
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