History Archives - San Lorenzo Valley Post

Ben Lomond Fire station vintage photograph

Pflueger and Rivera and the Ben Lomond Fire Station

August 19, 2021August 29, 2021 slvpost.com0 comment

By Randall Brown A remarkable event is taking place at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Diego Rivera’s epic mural – “The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on this Continent” – is being shown to the public for the first time in 80 years. The spectacular fresco – 74 by 22 feet… Read More

Columns History

Building and Rebuilding Sequoia School

July 7, 2021July 16, 2021 slvpost.com0 comment

By Lisa Robinson Tragedy struck twice when the Alba Schoolhouse burned in the CZU Lightning Complex Fire. The lumber from the Sequoia one-room schoolhouse originally built after the second Sequoia School House succumbed during the dreadful 1904 fires, also perished in the blaze. The new third Sequoia Schoolhouse was completed in 1905. It was located on China Grade at the… Read More

Columns History Water

A History of Scotts Valley Water

June 18, 2021July 6, 2021 slvpost.com0 comment

By Randall Brown August 1958. The Scotts Valley Barn was practically empty on the night the residents were invited to learn about the upcoming water election. Engineers, county officials’ consultants, and public-relations men nearly outnumbered the ten interested citizens. There would be one question on the ballot, according to a spokesman: “Do you wish to buy a reserve water supply… Read More

History Local News

Abandoned Bunker in the CZU Burn Zone

May 5, 2021May 15, 2021 slvpost.com2 Comments

What fire uncovers. Within Big Basin Redwoods State Park – post-CZU – an old bunker is revealed. Locals have long speculated what might have been stored within. SLV Museum’s Lisa Robinson provided this comment: “I would have thought it was for road building and/or removing stumps – there are many many reports of removing stumps with dynamite – I’ve written… Read More

Columns History

Streetwise: Kenville Road

April 15, 2021May 5, 2021 slvpost.com0 comment

The Hidden History of SLV Street Names By Lisa Robinson Old Kenville Road, east of Zayante Creek, is the topic of this month’s article. But for whom is it named? There were two early Kenville homesteaders – Joseph Kenville, who with his wife America, came to Santa Cruz County in 1866 and, seemingly unrelated, Solomon Kenville and his wife Edesse… Read More

History

Boulder Creek IOOF Cemetery

April 1, 2021April 20, 2021 slvpost.comcemeteries, ioof1 Comment

by Lisa Robinson In the Boulder Creek IOOF Cemetery there stands a headstone dated 1862. Although it appears to be the oldest headstone in the cemetery it is in fact not. In 1899, when Joseph Peery traveled back to Nevada to his wife Martha’s grave, he wrote: “I had come all this distance for the purpose of removing the remains… Read More

Food & Drink History Local News Tourism

The Ghost Train and Hidden Tunnels in the Santa Cruz Mountains

March 3, 2021March 28, 2021 slvpost.com14 Comments

The story of the South Pacific Railroad is a tale of a colossal feat doomed to fail. The portion of the short-lived narrow-gauge railroad that connected Los Gatos to Felton had its share of disasters, from earthquakes to epic storms to fatal accidents. But in the end, not any specific one of these tragedies killed the railroad, it was the... Read More

Columns History

Streetwise: Elisha Brooks

March 1, 2021March 24, 2021 slvpost.com0 comment

Hidden histories of street names in the San Lorenzo Valley By Lisa Robinson While many local places are named after our babbling brooks – Brook Lane, Brook Drive, Brookdale, Brookside – Brooks Road in Ben Lomond is named for Elisha Brooks. Elisha, his wife Ellen, and their daughter Alice moved to their new cottage in Ben Lomond in 1904. Elisha… Read More

Felton california movie location the primal lure

Columns History

History: The Movies Come to Felton

March 1, 2021March 21, 2021 slvpost.com0 comment

Plenty of Real Scenery for “The Primal Lure” By Randall Brown December 1915. The movie scouts needed to find a location for a Canadian Northwest story. The scenario called for forests, mountain trails, open clearings, and a river. Their instructions were clear: “No phony scenery.” They chose Felton. Carpenters quickly set to work recreating “Fort Lu Cerne,” a frontier trading… Read More

Kings Creek Road at Highway 9 Boulder Creek

Columns History

Streetwise History: Kings Creek Road

February 28, 2021March 9, 2021 slvpost.com1 Comment

By Lisa Robinson In these articles, we will look at street names in the San Lorenzo Valley and explore their hidden history. James King and his family were among the first residents of the upper San Lorenzo Valley. James and his wife Mary Carpenter were from Missouri. They travelled across the plains by emigrant train arriving in Sacramento in September… Read More