Mountain Drive, a residential enclave of free spirits located in the hills above Montecito, coalesced in the years following World War II. The driving force behind its formation was Robert McKee Hyde, known to all as Bobby. The spirit of the community was bohemian, a "live-and-let-live" feel that fostered a close-knit camaraderie. Community interaction often centered on a growing number of celebrations and festivals. Probably the best-known was the Wine Stomp, begun in 1952, in which the Wine Queen selected that year was joined in the large wine vat by neighbors to crush that season's harvest. Two generations following development of the Mountain Drive community an advanced oral history class set out to record the personal memories of those who were part of Mountain Drive's early days as a Central Coast experiment in non-conformity.

Bobby Hyde, born in 1900, a writer and son of a Santa Barbara artist, instigated the plan to create a community based on his desire to live an unconventional life. He purchased 50 acres of rugged land in the foothills above Santa Barbara and parceled out one acre lots to like-minded friends and relatives in the post-World War II 1940s and 1950s. The community was made up of writers, artists, teachers, musicians, naturalists, tradespersons, wine makers, free thinkers and their families.

2 Linear Feet 2 record storage boxes

Property rights reside with the Santa Barbara Historical Museum. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head Archivist of the Gledhill Library.

Collection is open for research.