Since the 1970s, most of the island has been administered by the Catalina Island Conservancy.
beginning in the 1920s, with most of the activity centered around the only incorporated city of Avalon, California. Catalina was successfully developed into a tourist destination by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr. During this time, the island was sporadically used for smuggling, otter hunting, and gold-digging. Over the years, territorial claims to the island transferred to Mexico and then to the United States. The first Europeans to arrive on Catalina claimed it for the Spanish Empire. The history of human activity on Santa Catalina Island, California begins with the Native Americans who called the island Pimugna or Pimu and referred to themselves as Pimugnans or Pimuvit. Human activity from indigenous people to modern timesĪvalon Bay before the construction of the casino
