The Guild was incorporated in 1936.  Initially, most residents were seasonal, escaping from cities and suburbs to the fresh air, forests and trails of the coastal mountains. The Guild provided fresh drinking water, a small man-made lake, a swimming pool, a playground, a fish hatchery, a shooting range and hiking trails. 

Today, most residents live in Cuesta year-round.   Over the years, the shooting range and hatchery were decommisioned, and a tennis court, horse ring, volleyball court, skate ramp and clubhouse have been added to the recreation facilities.  The water treatment system has grown from a sand and gravel filtration system with two inch delivery pipes to an automated membrane filtration plant delivering its output to homes and hydrants through 6-8 inch  pipes  through most of the system.  The community is an ecletic, and some say eccentric, mix of tradesmen, educators, scientists, engineers, businesspeople, entrepeneurs, artists, writers, poets and the occasional dreamer.