Pleyto’s Lost Village: Original Settlement Was Submerged After San Antonio Dam Opened in 1964

PLEYTO, Monterey County — October 2026. The Pleyto name survives in the Lake San Antonio North Shore area, but the former settlement once known as Pleyto is now associated with land submerged when San Antonio Dam was completed in 1964, according to Lost Towns of Monterey County, published by the Monterey History and Art Association.

Before the reservoir

The historical study describes a ranching and farming community that included a hotel, stage stop, blacksmith shop, school, dance hall and post office. The school had about 30 students, with lessons through ninth grade. In 1868 William Pinkerton Sr. acquired roughly 13,100 acres of Pleyto Ranch. The local economy relied on sheep and later cattle, together with wheat and barley. The author notes that an artesian well also supported cultivation.

Where did the name originate?

The account says the area was known as Pleito or El Pleito as early as 1796. One interpretation links the Spanish word to a property dispute between missions; another connects it to a site where Indigenous disagreements were discussed. Neither theory is presented as definitively established.

What exists now?

The modern Pleyto area is associated with the lake, not the operating institutions of the old village. Visitors seeking current park conditions, access rules and boat inspections should consult Monterey County’s Lake San Antonio information, and not attempt to enter restricted locations or assume historic buildings remain accessible.

Historical source: Monterey History and Art Association, Lost Towns of Monterey County, March 1996, page 8.

This is a local-history article, not news of a new dam or a statement about current water depth.

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