Nicolas Grevet  •  Photography

Over a century ago, Big Sur was a much more populated area than it is now. John Partington, after whom Partington Cove is named, ran a business selling the bark of the tanbark oak tree to leather manufacturers, who used the bark to tan leather (hence the name). This was the best cove for ships to come into. Massive eye bolts in the rock are the only thing left from the dock built in the 1800s.