Stations: Trafton

Trafton siding as viewed on a 1914 USGS Map.

The Trafton family were some of the first major East Coast settlers to migrate to the Pajaro Valley, and their legacy was keenly felt over the hundred years after their resettlement. In 1864, the entire family headed out from Boone County, Missouri, but the patriarch, David Trafton, died along the way leaving his wife, Sarah Woodbury, to raise her brood of five children alone. Their youngest son, twenty-seven year-old John Edmund Trafton, became the functional head of the family at this time since he was still unmarried and he became engaged with many different businesses over the course of his life. He quickly accumulated large parcels of land in both Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, on which he farmed and raised all manner of livestock. By the time he died in 1922, Trafton owned over 1,200 acres of fertile land and his estate was estimated to be worth at least $300,000. But Trafton was a bachellor and he gifted his vast estates and wealth to his siblings' children, a total of twenty-seven nieces and nephews. Trafton also donated thousands of dollars to local charities and organisations over his lifetime and helped found the Pajaro Valley National Bank and the Watsonville Creamery Company (likely contributing dairy from his own cattle, as well).

The Trafton family owned farms all over the area, but their original holding was a large parcel between the Pajaro River and modern-day Trafton Road, located specifically along the top half of the large bend in the river just south of Watsonville. In total, this area measures 400 acres, 280 of which are in the floodplain and the remainder on the hills. The Pajaro Valley Railroad snaked its way around this parcel in 1889 with the permission of the Traftons, who benefited by the addition of a 20-car siding and spur located at the north-east corner of their property. The spur sat on the inside curve of the tracks, while the spur broke off from this siding and terminated shortly afterwards, probably with a holding size of roughly 6 cars. This stop was located exactly three miles south of the Watsonville station terminus.

When Trafton died in 1922, his nephew Thomas F. Trafton took possession of the family estate. He began specializing in fruit- and vegetable-growing and chicken raising. Whether he used the railroad access at the back of his property is unknown, but the station remained until the abandonment of the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad track in 1929. The Trafton family still holds land in many areas in Monterey County and have held many prominent positions in the community, including Sheriff of Santa Cruz County and Mayor of Watsonville.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
36.885˚N, 121.785˚W

The site of Trafton station is one of the more recognizable and enduring locations along the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad right-of-way. The station was located with the first sharp bend in the Pajaro River as it exited from Watsonville to the sea, now directly across from the Watsonville City Wastewater plant. There is still space at this location for the original siding and spur, now occupied by various storage and fencing supplies along a private access road that runs behind the property. Unfortunately, this location is deep within private property and trespassing is strongly discouraged.

Citations & Credits:

• Clovis, Margaret. Images of America: Monterey County's North Coast and Coastal Valleys. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, .
• Harrison, E.S. Monterey County : its general features, resources, attractions, and inducements to investors and home seekers. Salinas, CA: Harrison, 1889.
• History of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, California : cradle of California's history and romance : dating from the planting of the cross of Christendom upon the shores of Monterey Bay by Fr. Junipero Serra, and those intrepid adventurers who accompanied him, down to the present day. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing. Co., 1925.

Stations: Pajaro

John T. Porter, c. 1875
[Santa Cruz Public Libraries]

To the southeast of Petersen station was another stop nebulously named Pajaro. This was actually one of the largest independent sugar beet farms on the entire Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad line. Purchased in 1864 by John Thomas Porter from a portion of Ignacio V.F. Vallejo's Rancho Bolsa de San Cayetano, the 820 acres property originally included the entire modern-day town of Pajaro, hence the stop's name. Porter was a prominent Watsonville citizen, co-founder of the Bank of Watsonville in 1874 and the Pajaro Valley National Bank in 1888. Porter was born and raised in Massachusetts and came to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush. In 1852, he became sheriff of Santa Cruz County and then duty collector for the port of Monterey in 1861. It was during these years that Porter became prominent in the Watsonville-Pajaro area. At first, he used his ranch for cattle, but the loss of his port job in 1865 and a terrible drought that killed off most of his herd quickly put an end to his ambitions. With the little money left to him, Porter became a real estate broker, much like Frederich A. Hihn in Santa Cruz County. He worked with Vallejo to parcel and subdivide his estate, essentially founding the town of Pajaro in the process. When Claus Spreckels began his sugar beet refinery in Soquel in the late 1870s, Porter was one of the first to adopt the new plant in his fields, quickly becoming a partial owner of the Soquel plant. He also specialized in strawberries and other fruits that were not common in the area at the time.

Unsurprisingly, when the Pajaro Valley Railroad project began in earnest in 1889, Porter made sure that it took an especially wide arc into his property before the track made its turn to the south. Porter's stop, Pajaro, was located 1.6 miles from the Watsonville sugar beet factory and hosted a 7-car spur, probably with a northward exit and oriented along the outside edge of the track as it began its sharp curve due south. What specific services were available at Pajaro are unknown, but it seems unlikely that it served as more than a beet-loading dump for passing trains.

Harry Totten (left) and John E. Porter near the Doheny Oil fields near Santa Maria, CA, 1917. [Granite Rock Company]

Lieutenant Governor Warren R. Porter,
1900. [Granite Rock Company]

John T. Porter died on February 13, 1900, and his son, Warren Reynolds Porter, and grandson, John E. Porter, took over the property on behalf of the larger family. Warren became president of both his father's banks in 1900 and also took on the difficult responsibility of managing the farm. Warren co-founded and directed the Granite Rock Company in 1900 alongside Arthur R. Wilson. He and his son remained prominent leaders of the company until 1921, when Warren lost all of his stake in the corporation in a failed business venture, after which Wilson took over as president. In 1906, Warren became lieutenant governor of California, after which he retired in 1911, leaving the estate's day-to-day operation to his children. The Porters were a small but well-respected family and likely maintained an investment in the Spreckels Sugar Company until 1929, when the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad shut down and transportation of beets to the factory in Spreckels became more costly.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
~36.889˚N, 121.758˚W

Like most stations on the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad route, the precise location of Pajaro is not known. It sat between the Pajaro River and Trafton Road, probably in the vicinity of Jackson's Refrigeration. No trace of the right-of-way or station in this area remains since the route has been covered by more recent agricultural plots.

Citations & Credits:

• History of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, California : cradle of California's history and romance : dating from the planting of the cross of Christendom upon the shores of Monterey Bay by Fr. Junipero Serra, and those intrepid adventurers who accompanied him, down to the present day. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1925.

Stations: Petersen

Perhaps one of the most ephemeral stops along the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad was Petersen, located just to the south of the Pajaro River in Monterey County. The stop, situated exactly one mile from Watsonville station, was named after Jens N. Petersen*, a local entrepreneur and one half of Petersen & Porter of Watsonville. Petersen was born in Denmark on May 11, 1873, and immigrated to the United States in 1892 and worked for the railroad for a year before settling in the Pajaro Valley. This means that the stop named after him did not appear until, at earliest, 1893, and probably much later. It is most likely that Petersen station only appeared in 1910 when Petersen purchased 400 acres of land that he called Valley Rancho. On this parcel, he operated a joint farm and ranch for six years before joining with John T. Porter and moving into the foothills, where they jointly ran a 3,000 acre stock-grazing ranch.

Thus, Petersen stop probably only existed between 1910 and 1916, during which time it undoubtedly rotated in sugar beets as one of its regular crops, considering the demand and the dominance of Claus Spreckels in the region. The spur at Petersen consisted of a short, 8-car track that most likely exited to the north to facilitate easy transfer to the Southern Pacific track at Watsonville. That station may have remained on timetables after 1916, but whether it was used by later residents is unknown. Petersen appears to have sold his property in 1916 and his daughters do not appear to have inherited it from him. Petersen died on November 12, 1961 and is buried at the Pioneer Cemetery in Watsonville.

* Note: Petersen's name is variously spelled "Petersen" or "Peterson" in both contemporary and modern records.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
~37.899˚N, 121.756˚W

The precise location of Petersen cannot be determined since all evidence of the stop has been erased by the building of the Pajaro River levee and farming on the station site. It seems most likely to have been located within the parcels to the south of the river if one were to follow the end of Harvest Drive (the former Pajaro Consolidated Railroad right-of-way) over the river. This would place it betweenJackson's Refrigeration station on Trafton Road and the river. All of this land is now private property and trespassing is discouraged. There is no evidence of the railroad or station remaining on the site.

Citations & Credits:

• History of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, California : cradle of California's history and romance : dating from the planting of the cross of Christendom upon the shores of Monterey Bay by Fr. Junipero Serra, and those intrepid adventurers who accompanied him, down to the present day. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1925.

Stations: McGowan Nos. 1 and 2

Located on the south bank of the Pajaro River at two different spots on the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad line were the stations known as McGowan No. 1 and McGowan No. 2. The McGowan family settled in the Pajaro Valley around 1865. John McGowan, and his wife Elizabeth Jarvis, were originally wheat and barley farmers from Ireland, but once they moved to Monterey county they began raising livestock as well. John died in 1901, while his wife had passed many years earlier in 1872.

The relationship between the McGowans and the railroad began with John and Elizabeth's eldest son, William John McGowan, born in Gloucester, New Jersey, in 1861 but soon resettled in California. Although he inherited his father's property in 1901, William also owned his own 254-acres farm near the outlet of the Pajaro River where he cultivated numerous crops year-round. In 1889, he joined the local agricultural aristocracy by marrying Sarah Margaret Trafton, daughter of Charles David Trafton and Elizabeth Cathers. Together, they had eight surviving children. The family homestead appears to have been on William's property rather than John's, suggesting that both parcels were obtained early by the McGowans and the more southernly of the two granted to William when he was old enough. The house was originally built on a bluff that overlooked the river, but the 1906 earthquake and landslides physically moved the structure downhill where it settled near modern-day Trafton Road. The structure was heavily repaired and placed atop a new foundation and then expanded over subsequent years. The primary industry at the southern property was apple planting after about 1906. By 1915, William had nearly 100 acres of apples growing between the two properties. Although the McGowans continued to plant other crops and maintain a small herd of livestock, the apple business is what dominated their output thereafter.

When the Pajaro Valley Railroad sought an easement along the McGowan properties in 1889, John and William McGowan both agreed so long as they were given flag-stop and freight rights to stops on their lands. The track looped around the northern boundaries of both properties, hugging closely to the Pajaro River. How frequently the McGowans used these tracks is unknown, but it seems likely that both properties produced at least some sugar beets that were shipped by rail to the Spreckels factories at first Watsonville and later Spreckels near Salinas. Railroad records show a siding on the south side of the current Thurwachter-McGowan bridge over the Pajaro River, which probably marks the site of McGowan No. 2, located 3.4 miles south of Watsonville. This stop hosted a 10-car spur that exited to the north, suggesting the local goods were shipped out from the Watsonville Southern Pacific transfer yard. The precise location of McGowan No. 1, found 1.8 miles south of Watsonville, is less certain, but it was probably near the State Highway 1 Pajaro River bridge. It also hosted a spur, this one only able to hold 8 cars, but the direction it exited is unknown. The 1906 earthquake severely damaged the track in the vicinity of McGowan No. 2, knocking out parts of the fence that lined the track beside the farms. A 25-acre apple orchard along the tracks was heavily damaged when the track broke and struck a number of trees during the temblor. The orchards themselves were also shifted, with many trees moved in the process.

The McGowans retained their railroads stops until the Pajaro Valley Consolidated Railroad ceased operations in 1929. William died on August 13, 1937, and Sarah died September 9, 1957. Both are buried together at the Pioneer Cemetery in Watsonville. Whether their descendants still live on either or both of the properties is unknown.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
McGowan No. 1: 36.883˚N, 121.772˚W
McGowan No. 2: 36.879˚N, 121.793˚W

It is not 100% certain where either McGowan property was located other than that both were found between modern-day Trafton Road and the Pajaro River. It seems most likely that McGowan No. 1 is related to the mid-sized agricultural parcel that is now bisected by State Route 1 just over the Pajaro River, although the original boundaries of this property must have been far larger. Adjacent to the south was the Trafton family holdings, and south of McGowan Road was certainly the property of William McGowan since his homestead still sits at 745 Trafton Road as a private residence. Access to any of this area is prohibited since all the land is private property. The railroad right of way has long since been buried beneath the Pajaro River levee and its path is now marked by a private-use road for local farmers that runs along the south bank of the Pajaro River.

Citations & Credits:

• History of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, California : cradle of California's history and romance : dating from the planting of the cross of Christendom upon the shores of Monterey Bay by Fr. Junipero Serra, and those intrepid adventurers who accompanied him, down to the present day. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1925.
• PST Consultants, LLC. "Agricultural Resources Evaluation Handbook, Monterey County, California"  (September 2011)
• Yould, T.L., and S.N. Hoose. Historic Ground Failures in Northern California Triggered by Earthquakes. Geological Study Professional Paper 993. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1978.