History Archives

FaceTime: Portraits from the Past at SLV Museum

August 27, 2025September 3, 2025 slvpost.com

A portrait exhibition titled FaceTime opened in June at the San Lorenzo Valley Museum’s Grace Episcopal Gallery in Boulder Creek. The exhibition features artwork and photographs of local residents spanning one hundred years from the 1870s to the 1970s. Alice Hesse, featured on the exhibition flyer above, graduated from Boulder Creek High School in 1921 and from UC Berkeley in… Read More

Columns History

Boulder Creek Fire | Local History

June 26, 2025July 4, 2025 slvpost.com

In March 1982, the Boulder Creek Fire Department took delivery of a “new rescue truck.” Pictured above, l to r: Bud Tomlin, Jack Kunz, and Jay Baker. (Santa Cruz Public Library Special Collections) The Boulder Creek Volunteer Fire Department, established in 1892, emerged in response to two devastating fires in 1891 that nearly destroyed downtown Boulder Creek and the nearby… Read More

Columns History Local History

The Changing Faces of Felton’s Toll House Resort

February 6, 2025February 11, 2025 slvpost.com

By Ronnie Trubek An 1867 toll house and general store for the Santa Cruz/Boulder Creek stagecoach line on Highway 9 in Felton has gone through many changes. One of the few buildings remaining from the early mining and lumbering days, this iconic property is considered a gateway to the San Lorenzo Valley and claims to be the last known standing… Read More

Columns History

Roy’s Market Felton

January 30, 2025February 2, 2025 Thomas Andersen

By Tom Andersen I still can’t keep the name of the market at the crosswalk on Highway 9 in Felton straight. It doesn’t matter. To the folks of my generation it will always be Roy’s, like, you know, turn right at Roy’s and go through the parking lot; then turn right to get to the covered bridge. Or, I have… Read More

Columns History Local History

A Mid-Century “Atomic” Vault in the Santa Cruz Mountains

December 26, 2024January 7, 2025 slvpost.comatomic vault, Santa Cruz Mountains, Zayante, zayante tunnel0 comment

By Ronnie Trubek In 1953, the Zayante Southern Pacific Railroad tunnel was purchased by the Western States Atomic Vault Corporation, touted for use as a storage place for vital documents and other priceless valuables in case of nuclear attacks. The Southern Pacific train route that ran through the tunnel had been abandoned since November 1940. But, the Zayante tunnel remained… Read More

History Local History Local News

Brookdale Post Office

December 13, 2024October 22, 2026 slvpost.com

By Ronnie Trubek By the turn of the 20th Century, the “Logan Camp” picnic and campgrounds at Clear Creek in Brookdale had established a fine reputation. Owner Judge James Logan, inventor of the hybrid loganberry, built his home, “The Cascades” on Main Street, later known as County Road. His former partner, Freeland Grover, resided directly across the road, in the… Read More

Columns History Local History

Gold Fever: Untold stories of the Califonia and Santa Cruz Gold Rushes

September 16, 2024October 4, 2024 Lisa Robinson

by Lisa Robison In 1853, Dr. John Boardman Trask, California’s state mineralogist, embarked on his second geological survey of the state, this time with a focus on the coastal counties and parts of the Sierra Nevada “embracing their resources in agriculture and mining.” He surveyed Santa Cruz County sometime between June 23 and October that year. He noted that four… Read More

Columns History Local History

The Grandmother Tree

September 15, 2024October 4, 2024 Lisa Robinson

By Lisa Robinson In 1902, the Santa Cruz Sentinel re-published a rather confusing story from the San Jose Mercury. A San Jose butcher, Charles A. Thompson, hung a side of meat in his shop and to it attached a sign saying “Bear.” To Charles Wampach, who was credited with “knowing as much about grizzlies and their kind as any man… Read More

Community History Local History Local News

Felton Acres Turns 100

July 30, 2024July 23, 2025 slvpost.com0 comment

Contributed On Sunday, June 9, 2024 neighbors from the Felton Acres subdivision in the Santa Cruz Mountains gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the neighborhood’s inception. Two Blue Plaques were received from the Museum of Art and History (MAH); one for the Felton Acres Resort Ticket Booth, the other for the Felton Acres Resort Community. Event co-host Brianna Goodman… Read More

History Local News

Logging History Revealed: Track-Laid Log Arch Discovered in the Santa Cruz Mountains

July 9, 2024July 31, 2024 slvpost.com0 comment

By Julie Horner “The glory days of the lumber mills are history,” Santa Cruz Mountains tree expert Bruce Baker said. “What the forest chooses to reveal to the random explorer is nobody’s business. It happens when it happens. Our role is to observe and protect.” When Bruce’s name appears in the caller ID, you pick up. There is always an… Read More