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Los Alamos was Founded in 1876 by John Bell and James Shaw, who owned adjoining 14,000-acres ranches, They each allocated one-half square mile from their ranches for the town. The dividing line between the ranches was named "Centenial Streer' in honor of the united state's 100th birthday. The heart of town still lies at the intersection of Bell and Centennial Streets, the location of the town's flag pole.
Los Alamos became a stagecoach stop in 1876 and by 1882, it hosted a depot for the narrow-gauge Pacific Coast Railway that linked San Luis Obispo and Los Olivos. It is now the only surviving depot of the Pacific Coast Railway and Houses the Depot Mall
By 1901, the Southern Pacific Railroad built a wider-gauge line that bypassed Los Alamos and the smaller railway couldn't compete. It finally shut down in 1938, and Los Alamos became "frozen in time", preserving much of yhe charm and atmosphere of a bygone era.
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In modern times, Los Alamos is a dichotomy of different eras. An abandoned service station sits across from a railway depot, leaving traces of the days of the both the iron horse and the horseless carriage
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