Atascadero is the vision of E.G. Lewis  
The community of Atascadero was founded in 1913 as a utopian, planned colony by Edward Gardner Lewis, a successful magazine publisher from the East. He had previously created such a community at University City, Missouri.   When he saw the Atascadero Ranch in 1912, Lewis put together a group of investors from across the country, paid J.H. Henry $37.50 an acre, and celebrated acquisition of the Rancho on July 4, 1913. 

 In 1914 the land was surveyed and subdivided. Thousands of acres of orchards were planted, a water system was installed and construction began on an 18 mile road (Highway 41 west) through the rugged Santa Lucia mountains to the ocean, where Lewis built cottages and a beach front hotel called the Cloisters.

 ATASCADERO (ah-task-a-dare-oh) is a Spanish name which, loosely translated means "a place of much water," and was originally home to the Salinas Indians.  In the half century between 1769 and 1823 the Spanish Franciscans established 21 missions along the California coast, including the nearby Mission's San Miguel Arcangel, and San Luis Obispo de Tolosa. In 1821, Mexico won its independence from Spain, and California became a Mexican province.