Journey Through Time: Historic “Steam Donkey” Logging Artifact Finds New Home

By Julie Horner

A historic steam-powered logging winch, or “steam donkey,” has been moved from deep in the Santa Cruz Mountains to the San Lorenzo Valley Museum in Boulder Creek. SLV Museum President Lisa Robinson took receipt of this logging industry artifact on Friday, June 23, 2023, from tree professional Bruce Baker and a team of expert movers and heavy machine operators. The steam donkey has been in the Santa Cruz Mountains since 1916-1920, according to Robinson, resting on heavily forested private land between Big Basin Redwoods and Butano State Parks, near the Gazos Creek Watershed. Access to the artifact was steep and difficult in drizzly overcast with many hazards and physical obstacles to overcome. Long in the planning, a dream come true for Robinson and Baker, the steam donkey now rests at the entrance to the San Lorenzo Valley Museum Grace Episcopal Gallery, 12547 Highway 9, Boulder Creek, California.

According to local history buff Scott Tucker, “The steam donkey was primarily used to winch cut logs to a loading area where the logs were then hoisted onto a train car or drug down a logging road to the mill by draft horse in early days, later by tractors.”

Discovering the Steam Donkey

The machinery had been resting in a remote location on land once slated for sale to Sempervirens Fund between Big Basin Redwoods and Butano State Parks since the early 1900s. At an estimated 20 thousand pounds, this artifact is considered to be relatively small, according to Robinson at the SLV Museum. The Santa Cruz Mountains may retain many such forgotten and rusting relics from the turn-of-the-century logging era, but few are discovered or transported due to heavy overgrowth and lack of access to privately held property. 

Well-known Boulder Creek tree faller Bruce Baker discovered the steam donkey in the late 1990s while on his rounds monitoring the miles of forest surrounding Big Basin Redwoods State Park. A lifelong tree expert and lumberjack, Baker has made a career of exploring the Santa Cruz Mountains backcountry and providing forest management services and gate security for property owners. With deep connections to the local timber industry, Baker placed a call to express interest in salvaging the rare find with the intent of donating it to the San Lorenzo Valley Museum. The steam donkey’s existence became known to the museum a few years later, and a letter was sent inquiring about obtaining this object of historical significance for the museum’s permanent exhibition. It was Baker’s persistence with repeated phone calls that finally resulted in permission in 2023 to retrieve the artifact.

Motivation and Muscle

For the extraction and move, Baker enlisted a team of no-nonsense pros consisting of go-to logistics expert Charlie Brown, Roaring Camp Railroads steam mechanic Steve Silva, and the specialists at Auto Care Towing — Ross Mark, Kelvin Ramer, and Clinton Ramer. The team launched into the forest from high atop China Grade. The convoy included a heavy-duty flatbed tow truck (operated by Ross Mark), a skid steer with log attachment (operated by Bruce Baker), and a custom all-terrain vehicle used for pulling (built and operated by Kelvin Ramer). The team also included forest helpers Cheyanne Pilgreen and Shawna Grove, SLV Museum’s Lisa Robinson, and the SLV Post’s Julie Horner. 

Baker had prepared the access route weeks in advance by clearing downed trees and grading the many miles of steep, winding logging road to the site to remove as many bumps in the narrow dirt passage as possible and to improve traction. Once at the site, Baker used the skid steer to move soil and felled trees around the steam donkey so that Ross and Kelvin could successfully position the flatbed tow truck near the artifact. With the steam donkey finally hooked to the tow truck, Baker in the skid steer carefully pushed while the object was gently pulled onto the bed. With the steam donkey fully strapped in, a tow cable was attached to Kelvin’s off-road vehicle, which forged ahead helping the tow truck maintain traction back up the hill. The work took hours to achieve, but the team of movers made this difficult extraction look like buttering bread.

Heading for New Digs

The steam donkey stands over 12 feet tall — taller on the flatbed — and there was concern that the payload wouldn’t clear power lines once down off the mountain and heading for delivery at the museum in downtown Boulder Creek. Ross, Kelvin, and Charlie rode ahead to survey the route while Bruce, Lisa, Steve, and I stood guard over the steam donkey at the junction of Highway 236 and Highway 9 just outside of Big Basin. Many commuters at the busy intersection pulled over to ogle the artifact and talk about its history. 

With the all-clear given, the convoy made its way toward town at a snail’s pace, narrowly clearing lines and limbs to the SLV Museum where Clinton Ramer was waiting with the Auto Care Towing 50-ton crane. At the museum, the trucks positioned themselves, and with lifting straps and steady hands at the controls, the crew eased the steam donkey onto railroad ties donated by Roaring Camp Railroads specifically for this installation. A bold idea carried out by dedicated community members.

The San Lorenzo Valley Museum is accepting donations to support the move: slvmuseum.org. And a ribbon cutting celebration will be held on Friday, September 1st, at 5 pm at the museum at 12547 Highway 9 in downtown Boulder Creek.

Julie Horner writes about food, art, and music in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Reach out to Julie at leap2three@gmail.com.

Photos by Julie Horner