6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MARCH 12-18, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com 831 There are the obvious draws for the 4.5 million visitors coming to Monterey County each year: the Monterey Bay Aquarium, beaches, remarkable vistas, outdoor sports, art, music and world-class events. Now, See Monterey, the county’s convention and visitor’s bureau, is capitalizing on another of the county’s unique features: its deep and rich history reaching back thousands of years. Recently, See Monterey launched a year-long storytelling initiative called Monterey 1000, designed to bring to life more than 1,000 years of the county’s history, simultaneous to the U.S. celebrating its 250th anniversary. The initiative is designed to connect key moments from the past with today’s landscapes, communities and traditions, throughout the entire county. “More than ever, travelers are seeking authentic, life-enriching experiences and the meaning behind them,” said Rob O’Keefe, See Monterey’s president and CEO. “Monterey 1000 connects the historical dots, creating a clear through-line from the past to the present through visitor experiences.” The bureau partnered with Brian Edwards as its local history expert—by day Edwards works for the City of Monterey as its library and museums director. For See Monterey, Edwards has been interviewing people from the wider community and has already posted articles and short videos with retired Congressman Sam Farr, Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw, Pebble Beach historian Neil Hotelling and Linda Yamane, a Rumsen Ohlone artist and cultural practitioner. More will be released throughout the year. The stories are posted with an interactive history timeline online at seemonterey.com/monterey-1000, as well as on the See Monterey app. The timeline links to the videos and articles. The initiative takes in the history of the entire county, not just the Monterey Peninsula that often tends to be the focus of many visitors. To reinforce that idea, Edwards is filming videos in other parts of the county. Edwards interviewed Shillinglaw inside the Steinbeck House in Salinas and at one point in the video, Shillinglaw noted she’s sitting on the exact spot where Steinbeck was born in 1902. The video emphasizes that people can come to the house themselves, have lunch and experience the home where the author grew up and wrote some of his stories. “I don’t think people really know that’s available to them,” Edwards says. The Monterey 1000 stories and videos seek to connect visitors to the very places that figures from the past lived and worked, places that people can visit for themselves today. In interviewing Yamane for an article on the See Monterey blog, Edwards sought to connect the county’s 10,000 years of history beginning with the Indigenous people who lived here before Westerners arrived. There is still an Indigenous presence today, and there are areas of the county that have changed little since their ancestors were alive. “You can go to places in Big Sur and see an area that looked the same 1,000 years ago,” he says. “That’s pretty unique for a lot of areas, specifically in the United States.” Monterey 1000 is linked to another of See Monterey’s initiatives, The Right Path, which encourages visitors to respect the region’s natural resources and residents, as well as to honor the county’s history and future. The county’s history is made up of smaller moments, each worthy of recognition and celebration, Edwards suggests. Much like the country celebrates the American Revolution and 1776, there are small periods of time, like the period that Steinbeck was alive and writing stories and novels about the region, that are worth remembering and helping people today to engage with it. More stories are to come, including those on the arts scene, music history, the rise of agriculture and the county’s wine country, among others. Ultimately, bringing more people to the county to experience its history will help keep history alive long term by spending money during their visits, Edwards says. “A lot of our nonprofits, our museums, federal funding is cut. State funding is cut. We need revenue, honestly. We need revenue to support activities, to support historic preservation. Museums need visitors to thrive,” he says. “We want people to understand the value of these stories.” Time Travel See Monterey leverages Monterey County’s rich history with a new outreach campaign. By Pam Marino “Museums need visitors to thrive.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS Historian Brian Edwards encourages visitors to learn more about the county’s history. “We’re not going to protect our resources and our history unless people understand them, people visit them, people interact with them,” he says. Let the Best Of Monterey Bay® Family readers know what you have to offer. FOR MORE INFO: CALL: 831-394-5656 EMAIL: sales@montereycountynow.com SUMMER PLANNING IS AROUND THE CORNER SUMMER CAMPS • ACTIVITIES • HEALTH • SCHOOLS PUBLISHING APRIL 2 AD DEADLINE MARCH 13 FamilyFREE 2025-2026 BEST OF MONTEREY BAY ® SUMMER CAMP LISTINGS 2025 FORGING LIFE SKILLS CAMP FROM A COUNSELOR’S PERSPECTIVE TEAM BONDING PUBLISHED BY cover_family_25.indd 1 3/20/25 10:59 AM
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