The coastal branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad opened around 1900 and eventually replaced ship transportation . A paved road linked Lompoc to Buellton and the rest of California around 1920 . In 1923 , the Honda Point disaster , the U.S. 's largest peacetime naval accident , occurred just off the coast ; nine U.S. destroyers ran aground , killing 23 people . During the Great Depression , La Purisima Mission was restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps ( CCC ) . During World War II , the coast west of Lompoc was the site of Camp Cooke , a United States Army training camp where large units could practice maneuvers
Honda Point disaster
Honda Point disaster
Lompoc, California