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Category: History

Halloween San Lorenzo Valley Halloween History 

Halloween: A Look at How the San Lorenzo Valley Built Its Month-long Traditions

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By Mary Andersen Sometime in the late 1890s, the boys of Boulder Creek got a cow onto the roof of Firemen’s Hall. Old Firemen’s Hall in 2001 (Santa Cruz Public Libraries) We know this because in May 1968, the Boulder Creek Historical Society sat down in the Recreation Annex with three longtime residents — Tom Hunt, Karm West and Vince Locatelli… Read More
Brookdale Home Columns History Real Estate 

The Brookdale Nature Writer Who Helped Save Big Basin

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The historic home of an early conservationist — now offered for sale in Brookdale. By MaryBeth McLaughlin, The Mountain Ear Real Estate Columnist  More than a hundred years ago, a writer named Virginia Garland Ballen lived in Brookdale among the redwoods. From her mountain home she wrote newspaper columns about wildflowers, birds, forest ponds, and the quiet life of the… Read More
Felton Fire Station California Columns Fire Departments History 

Felton Fire Protection District: A Local History of Volunteer Service and Growth 

Mary Andersen
By Mary Andersen Felton Fire Protection District grew out of a long local tradition of volunteer fire protection in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Its history dates to the 1930s and 1940s. The story centers on the Fetherston family, early volunteers, and the community’s decision to create a formal district so Felton could fund equipment, staff, and a permanent firehouse. Early… Read More
Felton Flume Columns History Local History 

Flumes: Lifelines of the 19th-Century Redwood Rush

Mary Andersen
By Mary Andersen In the Santa Cruz Mountains during the 1800s, the air frequently hummed with the thunder of falling redwoods and the distant roar of rushing water. Felton, then a nascent lumber boomtown on the San Lorenzo River, stood at the heart of this industrial activity. Here, flumes – ingenious wooden waterways engineered to defy gravity – transformed the… Read More
Santa Cruz Has Everthing But You Frank Robinson Brentlinger Columns History Local History 

Santa Cruz Has Everything – But You

Lisa Robinson
By Lisa Robinson In 1926, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported “At last – a Christmas greeting card typical of Santa Cruz!” The cards were devoid of snow or snow-covered holly berries. In fact, the Sentinel pointed out, Santa Cruz was a city “where snowstorms are as scarce as seagull’s teeth.” View the full Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper clipping below. Local… Read More
San Lorenzo River history Columns History 

Portolà Expedition: The 1769 Naming of the San Lorenzo River

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On a chilly, fog-draped evening in October 1769, a group of Spanish explorers set up camp along the west bank of a river near towering redwoods. Led by Captain Gaspar de Portolà, this adventurous group — California’s first European overland expedition — had found a waterway so impressive they named it “Río de San Lorenzo” on October 17, after their… Read More