Queen City, Catalina Island: The City That Never Was

TWO HARBORS—If there is one thing everyone knows about the Channel Islands, it’s there is only one incorporated city located on the archipelago located just off the Southern California coast. That city is Avalon, located near the east/southeast corner of Catalina Island. But an area closer to Catalina’s West End could have been where the archipelago’s sole municipality could have been located. Imagine making a trip to Queen City (instead of Avalon). Queen City is what could have been if plans to develop a 40-acre stretch of Catalina’s West End were realized. The planned community at Catalina’s Wilson Harbor was proposed, in 1863, to be the island’s metropolis destination. The Civil War, ironically, is probably what prevented Queen City from ever coming online. (Avalon wouldn’t be incorporated for another 50 years.) “A site for a city was located on Wilson Harbor. Lots were staked off, and Queen City became the mining metropolis of Santa Catalina,” an entry in the book, “The Lost Mines of Santa Catalina,” stated. It wasn’t long before miners found gold on the island. Thousands upon thousands of claims were made within a year, according to “The Lost Mines of Santa Catalina.” The area where Queen City would have been established...