Located on the Pacific coast between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Cambria developed as a hub for lumbering, mining, whaling, and dairying in the 19th century. Situated in a pine forest and populated by immigrants from the eastern United States and numerous Swiss-Italians, it became the second largest town in San Luis Obispo County. When the railroad bypassed Cambria, the pace of life quieted for a time, and ranchers raised cattle for beef. But affordable automobiles and the construction of roads to the north and east turned the locale into a vacation destination. The cool climate, rugged...