The early California Indians were well acquainted with the various oak trees, since acorns were the most characteristic feature to their life style. Several tribes considered the coast live oak acorns to be far superior to all the others as food supply. The Shells were removed, the nut leached to remove the tannic acid, and then ground it to a mush. An average oak tree will produce from 160-425 pounds of acorns a year. Multiply that by the number of 1 tree per acre in an oak woodland and you have a 10 acre area producing approximately 1600-4250 pounds of high quality food. Acorns contain the same amount of carbohdrates as wheat and barley, but are low in protein. A family of 6 Indians would need roughly 2100 pounds of acorns per year to feed themsleves. The Indian tribes can actually be identified by their unique procedures and tools used to prepare acorns.

The Spanish also paid much attention to the coast live oak. On the first scientific expedition to California, in 1791, the species was first collected and named. The Spaniards name for this oak was "encina", the word for the evergreen mediterranean oak. Spanish explorers associated this tree with the fertility of the land. That is why the missions established by Padre Junipero Serra coincides with the range of the coast live oak. The first reference to Quercus agrifolia (coast live oak) in 1798, by C.S. Sargent, he apparently used the oak for fuel and for ship repairs. According to D.C. Peattie, it was the beauty and abundance of coast live oaks that attracted settlers to this area. As the settlements grew, many oaks were cut down.