The name "Prisoner's Harbor" comes from an interesting historical incident in 1830. During this time the Mexican government used Alta California as a place of exile for convicts. In February 1830 the Maria Ester brought about eighty prisoners from Acapulco to California. After being refused entry at the presidios in San Diego and Santa Barbara, Captain Andrew Christian Holmes decided that thirty of the worst convicts would be taken to Santa Cruz Island. The harbor where the prisoners were left with supplies was the island's main harbor and was subsequently called "Prisoner's Harbor." As to what happened to those prisoners, there are different accounts. Most accounts state that they somehow made it back to the mainland (possibly by building rafts and sailing across the channel to Carpinteria) and integrated into society. However, some accounts report that the prisoners did not survive the trip across the channel.
