LARCO, Ulpiano E.
LARCO, Ulpiano E. (1883-1936), Santa Barbara-born fifth son of Andre and María Larco. Ulpiano and his brothers, Sebastian and Frank, operated the Larco family fishing business after their father’s death in 1911. The Larco’s well known carved sandstone stone fish market built in 1905 was originally located at 123 State Street not far from Stearn’s Wharf. In 1986 the stone building was taken apart, stone by stone, and relocated on Cabrillo Boulevard where it now houses the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce. In July 1928, one of the Larco boats, Davinci, was used by Ira Eaton to transport supplies to Pelican Bay. In 1925, the Larco boat Ulpiano was used in the filming of Mutiny on the Bounty. Ulpiano Larco died in 1936 in Oregon at 53 years of age, and was survived by his wife, Frances "Fanny" Fredericka Hansen Larco (1886-1961). They had two daughters:
- Mary Carmelita Larco Baldwin (1912-1992)
- Frances Isabella ‘Billie’ Larco Ward
Ulpiano Larco is buried in Santa Barbara Cemetery. His wife, Fanny, is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Santa Barbara.
In the News~
August 22, 1901 [SBMP]: “Monster green turtle caught by fishermen in the channel. Sebastian Larco is in possession of a large turtle caught by his men yesterday afternoon, which is considered to be worth hundreds of dollars to a museum or institute. Every afternoon about 4:30 o’clock the fishermen in his employ pull in their nets, which are set in the channel about a mile and a half out. Yesterday, while they were returning, they noticed several large splashes resembling a whale in distress, located in the center of the kelp. They immediately turned their boats in that direction, and on arriving at the spot noticed that the cause of the disturbance was a monster turtle, caught in the kelp and unable to extricate itself. After considerable hard work, a rope was fastened to it and an effort made to bring it to the boat. Finally the monster was dragged in, but scarcely had it landed before it struck one of the men with its wing, or fin, sending him headlong into the ocean, and then crawled back into the water... A rope was securely fastened and the turtle towed to the beach and landed… Piano Larco and Pietro Marfoli were the fishermen who captured it.”
November 2, 1901 [LAT/SB]: “A jewfish weighing 250 pounds was caught in the channel yesterday afternoon by Piano Larco.”
August 6, 1904 [SBMP]: “Captain Ulpiano Larco has a party out in the Paloma yesterday. A big catch of different kinds was made, including ten fine large albacore.”
June 24, 1907 [SBI]: “Ulpiano Larco entertained a number of friends yesterday cruising about the channel in the sailboat La Paloma.”
April 26, 1916 [SBDN]: “Ulpiano Larco made a catch of 400 pounds of rock bass with set lines yesterday. A fisherman from the Flying A company, who was out three hours, brought in the biggest catch of the year for the time he was fishing yesterday afternoon. He was lucky enough to have several of the Flying A men at the wharf as he came in with his string. They were there to take part in the work of filming the ship explosion for The Secret of the Submarine.”
November 23, 1928: “Santa Barbara. When one thinks of Santa Barbara, one naturally thinks of Larco, as they are the only producers and shippers there and they have a wonderful business. They operate twenty-two fishing boats and own twelve outright. Five men are employed on each boat, most of their boats being of the trawler type. They just launched the Ogenio, a 45-footer, equipped with a 50 H.P. Atlas Imperial Diesel. You will have to hand it to the Larco boys. They are live wires and know the game. In an interview with Mr. U (Piano) Larco, he says, “Our lobster camps at the Islands have not been very productive this season, about 50% normal. But you can’t tell when the boats will come into their own. While the outlook so far is not so good, still I predict larger catches later on. But if the latter is not the case, there will be a record price paid this year. Halibut is also very scarce. Most of my boats are not making expenses, and we are only waiting on a good rain and then we can connect. We are getting quite a few soles and our fillet business is growing in leaps and bounds. Fillet is, without question, the future way in which fish will be sold. We are adjusting our business accordingly.” Chico Larco, the senior [junior] brother, has been under the weather with a very severe cold and claims he is embarrassingly short on snake medicine. You see Chico still believes the old time remedies are the best, so if for some reason or other, some of our readers happen to be travelling Santa Barbara way, by all means let Chico explain in his own words the curative value of Carrie Nation’s tonic. The California Fisheries 1(1): 15-16.
