La Graciosa is a former human settlement in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. La Graciosa was the first village established in the Santa Maria River valley. [1] It was located southwest of Orcutt. [1] The town was named for Laguna Graciosa, a nearby lagoon so called because Spanish explorers thought it was lovely. [2] The town was on land that had been Rancho Guadalupe. [2] A man named Patrick O'Neil opened a stage station and store on the site around 1868. [2] The stagecoach route had originally gone through Foxen Canyon but eventually switched to the valley of Los Alamos, with a stop at La Graciosa. [3] The settlement had a post office and a school. [2] However, in 1877 H. M. Newhall came into possession of the land and "served suits of ejectment to all the inhabitants." [2]
La Graciosa schools had 52 students in approximately 1882. [3]