In 1846 the last Chumash village in the Valley located at La Cieneguitas was served by a new chapel named St. Francis Xavier located on the present day Hollister Avenue at the crossing of Atascadero Creek near Arboleda Street.

The character of the valley was changed with the deaths of Den in 1862 and Hill in 1865 and the great droughts of 1863 and 1864. These events caused the first subdivisions of the ranchos. Now famous names like Hollister, Cooper, Stow, More, Winchester, Sexton and Kellogg began to appear in the valley. Farms, dairies and ranches became the character of the Goleta Valley until the 1940's.