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Prior to the modern era the island was inhabited by people of the Tongva tribe, who also lived in the area of Los
Angeles, had villages near present day San Pedro and Playa del Rey, and who regularly traveled back and forth to
Catalina for trade. The Tongva called the island Pimu or Pimungna.
The first European to ever set foot on the island was the Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, sailing for
Spain. This happened on October 7, 1542. He claimed the island for Spain and christened it San Salvador. Another
Spanish explorer, Sebastian Vizcaino, rediscovered the island on the eve of Saint Catherine's day (November 24)
in 1602. He renamed it Santa Catalina. During the following 300 years, the island served as home or base of
operation for all sorts of visitors, from Russian otter hunters to Spanish smugglers to Chinese pirates.
Franciscan monks tried to build a mission there, but failed due to the lack of fresh water on the island.
The native population was mostly wiped out during 19th century. Catalina Island experienced a brief period
of gold rush in 1860s, but no gold was found, and ultimately those early mining attempts were abandoned. By the
end of 19th century, the island was almost uninhabited except for a few cattle herders. At that time, its location
just 20 miles from Los Angeles—the city that had reached the population of 50,000 in 1890 and was undergoing the
period of enormous growth—was a major factor that contributed to the development of the island into a vacation
destination.
The sons of Phineas Banning bought the island in 1891 from the estate of James Lick and established the Santa
Catalina Island Company to develop it as a resort. Their efforts were set back on November 29, 1915 when a fire
burned half of Avalon's buildings, including six hotels and several clubs. World War I also hampered tourism, and
the Banning brothers were forced to sell the island.
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