Spanish for "the cottonwoods" which line the stream banks running through the valley, Los Alamos is located approximately fifty miles north of Santa Barbara beside Highway 101.

It was founded in 1876 by John Bell and James Shaw, both formerly of San Francisco, who had purchased adjoining 14,000 acre ranches from the area's original Mexican land grants. They jointly determined to build a town and allocated one-half square mile from each of their ranches for that purpose. 

The dividing line between the ranches became the town's central street, named "Centennial Street" in honor of the nation's 100th birthday. Today Centennial runs north and south from the flagpole, past the Olga Reed school to Los Alamos Park.  Though the founders intended it to be the commercial center, it became residential instead. The intersecting main street through town was named Bell Street and is the current business district.