Freight Stops: Lower Chestnut Street Spur

Just to the south of the intersection of Chestnut and Laurel Streets in Santa Cruz, the Southern Pacific Railroad intended to erect a unified depot for its standard- and narrow-gauge railroad lines. However, not yet knowing the full scope of its plans and where it wished to locate the passenger and freight depots, the railroad purchased a large parcel of land between Chestnut and Washington Streets. At the beginning of 1893, the new depot opened at the southernmost end of this, where Pacific Avenue turns toward the beach, leaving the entire section to the north open for development. The first company to jump at this opportunity was Standard Oil, which was expanding rapidly across the United States as a primary provider of oil and petroleum.

View of the Lower Plaza from Mission Hill showing Hugo Hihn's flatiron building and the Williamson & Garrett building, 1905. [Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History – Colorized using DeOldify]

In 1895, Standard Oil erected two large oil tanks to the north of the depot. Southern Pacific installed a narrow-gauge spur with a southward exit beside the tanks and Standard Oil expanded its presence with the addition of a small warehouse to the north of the tanks. This small depot provided Santa Cruz with its first regular access to automotive oil. The tracks were upgraded in 1908 to standard gauge but it was not until 1912 that Southern Pacific requested Standard Oil to relocate in order to use its space for railroad facilities. Standard Oil moved them to a spur in the Mission Orchard area north of Mission Hill, where they remained for several years. By the late 1940s, new tanks were installed on a new site across from the Union Depot near the end of Center Street.

The Williamson & Garrett building at 1547 Pacific Avenue. Constructed in 1899, the second story housed the Santa Cruz Library from 1900 to 1904. From 1970 to the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, the building was home to Bookshop Santa Cruz, but was demolished after the temblor due to substantial damage.
[Santa Cruz Public Libraries – Colorized using DeOldify]

Further north at the end of the spur, Williamson & Garrett, a local grocery firm run by James Williamson and Edwin H. Garrett, erected a warehouse to receive supplies of cement, grain, and feed for their grocery store located near the northern end of Pacific Avenue. This structure was installed no later than 1904. Williamson and Garrett had entered the local grocery market in 1876 when they purchased a store owned by J. H. O'Hara. City politics forced the company to relocate in 1899 to a new store, which was one of the city's more prominent buildings for several decades. Shortly after constructing the store, the firm bought the warehouse at the tracks and opened a wholesale store at the corner of Mission and Vine (Cedar) Streets near downtown. After fifty years in the industry, the business was taken over by W. J. Espindola in 1926, who converted it into exclusively a wholesale company. The business survived the Great Depression but was sold to the grocery chain Pure Foods in 1940. Pure Foods had already switched to using trucks by this time so leased its newly-acquired warehouse at the Santa Cruz Union Depot to the Herb Moore Produce Company.

The Lower Chestnut Street area with the Herb Moore Produce warehouse at left, 1953.
Photograph by L. L. Bonney. [Jim Vail – Colorized using DeOldify]

Herbert Moore was also a grocery wholesale distributor and continued the warehouse's tradition of being used to receive produce and supplies via rail. The facility on Chestnut Street was upgraded in 1947 once sheet metal was once again obtainable following the end of World War II. For several years, the company also ran one of the most discussed softball teams in the region. Moore continued in regular use throughout the 1940s until 1957 but then all mention of him and his company disappears from local newspapers. The company's later history and whether its warehouse at the Union Depot remained in use after this date is unknown. The spur was removed no later than 1973.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
36.9678N, 122.0288W

The former Standard Oil and Herb Moore spur ran along the east side of the mainline track through what is now a parking lot for a mixed apartment and business complex at the corner of Laurel and Chestnut Streets. This parking lot continues behind several homes and businesses that line Washington Street. No trace of the spur survives—the current spur near this site is a team track that was added to the Union Depot in the 1950s.

Citations & Credits:

• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.

Stations: Santa Cruz Depot (Santa Cruz Railroad)

For sixteen years, Santa Cruz was but a tiny dot on the vast map of California—the home of a mission and a pueblo, but little else. Then, with the final spikes of the Santa Cruz Railroad hammered into the crossties in early 1876, Santa Cruz became a proper railroad destination. And the terminus of that route was Santa Cruz Depot just to the west of the Lower Plaza at the corner of Park Street and Division Street (today's Union Street and Squid Row). This site was selected due to its close proximity to downtown and the space that was available there. The city had no expanded such in 1876 that an entire block could not be dedicated to the depot and its yard.

The Santa Cruz Railroad depot on Park Street after standard-gauging of the lines, c. 1890.
[Harold van Gorder – Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. Colorized using DeOldify]

The railroad depot had everything that was required, including direct access to the Enterprise Iron Works, which sat adjacent to the yard at the corner of Division and Cherry Street (Chestnut Street). The station yard included a a two-locomotive engine house, a two-lane covered car house connected to the depot building that could support up to four passenger cars, and a covered freight house where goods from downtown customers could be stored while awaiting pickup. One of the car house tracks continued across Division Street to stop beside the Pioneers Society offices. Presumably this was to allow priority access to the first class car for company officials, some of whom owned office space in the building. The yard also included such standard features as a water tank, turntable, and a coal house. An additional track broke off to end in front of the flatiron building at the end of Pacific Avenue, where horsecars of the Red Line (later the City Railroad) could pick up passengers and take them to the Santa Cruz Main Beach. Frederick A. Hihn, president and chief investor in the line, maintained his business office upstairs in the depot, where he could oversee daily operations and ensure everything was running at peak efficiency.

For four brief years, the Santa Cruz Railroad's depot reigned supreme as the only formal railroad station within the city. But the railroad's dominance was shattered in May 1880 when the South Pacific Coast Railroad established its own station directly across from it on Cherry Street. The Santa Cruz Railroad, already struggling from cost overruns and expensive repairs annually due to winter storms, could not face the competition from a direct railroad line to San Francisco. Hihn filed for bankruptcy and the Southern Pacific Railroad took over the line and the depot in 1881.

This 1892 Sanborn Fire Insurance map shows the two Santa Cruz depots facing across Rincon Street from each
other in their final year of feigned competition. The Park Street depot (lower) has been entirely converted
to standard-gauge by this point while the South Pacific Coast depot (upper) is still narrow-gauge.
[University of California, Santa Cruz, Digital Collections]

Under Southern Pacific control, the facilities on Park Street were upgraded. Throughout 1882, the tracks were standard-gauged across the network including within the yard, and the City Railroad was abandoned, with the former spur to the flatiron building truncated to a parking spur within the yard. The engine house may have been rebuilt entirely at this time to support larger rolling stock—the old locomotives were sold but switch engines were brought in to support local traffic—and the roof of the car house was probably lifted as well to support taller cars. But little changed regarding daily operations. Trains still departed from the depot following established timetables while competition with the South Pacific Coast Railroad continued. The take over of that line by Southern Pacific in 1887 did not drastically change the situation since the two lines still ran on different gauges. People who wished to transfer from one line to the other had to cross the street to the former rival's depot. A boardwalk was installed between the two to make this process easier, but demand quickly rose for a unified depot.

Double tracks down Chestnut Street after the conversion to standard-gauge, c. 1930s.
[Margaret Koch Collection – Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History]

By 1892, Southern Pacific was tired of the faux rivalry between its two lines and decisively moved to unify its services in Santa Cruz. At the end of Center Street near Neary Lagoon, where several lumber companies and the Centennial Flour Company already maintained freight spurs, Southern Pacific erected its Santa Cruz Union Depot. With the new station's opening on January 1, 1893, the two former stations were no longer needed and both closed down. Timetables were soon tweaked to reflect the new mile-marker location of the new depot, effectively abandoning the site of the former depots. While demolishing the buildings took a relatively short time to accomplish, the task of removing the tracks was somewhat more involved. For a decade, they remained in place. In fact, a narrow-gauge spur was extended into the yard adjacent to a standard-gauge spur. The Enterprise Iron Works and the Santa Cruz Foundry may have used one or both of these spurs during this time, but there is no other evidence that the location was used as a freight yard. Both foundries relocated to River Street in 1904, effectively abandoning the block.

Park Street flag-stop as depicted on a poorly-updated Sanborn Fire Insurance map, 1917.
[UC Santa Cruz, Digital Collections]

The San Francisco Earthquake in 1906 finally prompted the complete standard-gauging of the former South Pacific Coast trackage, a process that was completed within the city by the end of 1907. This project unified all of the trackage and allowed a simplification of the tracks down Chestnut Street. Previously, two narrow-gauge and one standard-gauge track ran down the street—following upgrading, two standard-gauge tracks operated down the road, with one terminating at the former Santa Cruz Railroad depot site. Shortly after upgrading, the Union Ice Company moved its Santa Cruz beach ice house to beside the spur and Southern Pacific rebranded the location a flag-stop under the name "Park Street."

Excursion train heading down Chestnut Street out of Tunnel 8, June 24, 1939. Note the abandoned Park Street spur in the foreground. Photograph by Wilbur C. Whittaker. [Jim Vail]

Park Street as a stop along the line appears to have served little purpose except, perhaps, to Santa Cruz High School students who may have used the location to travel between their homes in Live Oak or on the North Coast to get to school. But only anecdotal evidence suggests this as a use and railroad timetables throughout the 1920s and 1930s show that most trains did not stop here. For some reason, the morning passenger train from San Francisco serviced the stop on weekdays, but no westbound train returned to pick up passengers. The Union Ice Company relocated again to a large warehouse near the Union Depot in 1919, leaving Park Street solely the domain of passengers. The flag-stop remained on timetables until 1939, although how frequently it was used remains open to debate. Despite the abandonment of the mountain route in 1940, the station remained in employee station books until 1942. The spur sat unused at the site, possibly as a parking spot for a tunnel maintenance car, until the mid-1950s, when the trackage on Chestnut Street was overhauled and the second track removed. Southern Pacific promptly sold off the property to developers who built a small subdivision atop the former yard.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
36.9756N, 122.0292W

The location of the Santa Cruz Railroad's depot is now occupied by Goodwill at the corner of Union Street and Squid Row. The rail yard originally occupied the entire area behind and north of Goodwill to Chestnut Street. The remnant Park Street spur crossed into the relatively new housing subdivision at the corner of Union Street and Chestnut Street across from Green Street. There are no remnants of the old Santa Cruz Railroad depot remaining but the Enterprise Iron Works building remains at the corner of Squid Row and Chestnut Street.

Citations & Credits:

• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.

Stations: Glen Arbor

Glen Arbor was never a booming metropolis and its station was never any more than a rustic, although undeniably large, shelter in the eyes of the Southern Pacific Railroad. Established in 1911, Glen Arbor was the third in a quartet of small stations set up after standard-gauging was completed in 1908, the others being Siesta in 1909, Bonny Brae in 1912, and Phillipshurst in 1913. There was great anticipation surrounding the establishment of Glen Arbor. Located on the east bank of the San Lorenzo River midway between Felton and Ben Lomond, the subdivision was built upon a large and recently deforested tract that had seen little use other than some grazing and farming activity. Part of the problem was isolation: the river cut a deep moat on two sides, while a steep, sandy hillside flanked the subdivision to the east, leaving the north as the only escape route. The only roads that could reach the tract were a 1.5-mile-long road from Ben Lomond or a longer road to Olympia, north of Felton. Both went through rugged, industrial country. Fortunately, the Felton & Pescadero Railroad had forged a path directly through this area back in 1885, and Southern Pacific still maintained the route in 1909, when the Glen Arbor subdivision was first proposed.

Glen Arbor, looking north-east, c. 1910s. [Santa Cruz Public Libraries]

J. W. Wright purchased the property that would become Glen Arbor from the Rountree and Brackney families. He saw the area as his chance to make a pleasure city—i.e., a resort community—in the San Lorenzo Valley. Jumping on the Scots Gaelic-themed names of the area, he called the subdivision Glen Arbor, which means "a shady place among the trees." And while there certainly were trees along the riverbank, the plateau upon which the subdivision was established appears from photographs to be relatively barren. Nonetheless, Wright, via his property manager L. W. Coffee, set off immediately to market the subdivision to wealthy Bay Area elite.

A summer home built in the Glen Arbor subdivision, c. 1920s. [George Pepper]

Coffee parcelled off a stunning 600 lots as the core of the development, and government records of the subdivision show an impressive breakdown with dozens of homes lining Riverton Avenue (later Glen Arbor Road), Hermosa Ave., Fernwood Ave., Oak Ave., Fremont Ave., Caledonium Ave., and Arden Ave., many of which would prove near-impossible to build upon due to geographical constraints. An advertisement from June 1909 notes that riverside lots cost $50 while lots within the subdivision cost $30. Lots sold surprisingly fast, with nearly 200 allegedly sold by the date of the June advertisement. Coffee brought in hundreds of visitors each week throughout the spring and summer of 1909 to sell lots. He ran barbecues and picnics, offered free railroad tickets to prospective buyers and their families, and generally feted them as best he could. 

Glen Arbor hosting a passenger train, as viewed from the Coffee residence that looked directly west down Riverton Avenue, late 1910s. [Bruce MacGregor]

The newspaper advertisement shows Glen Arbor's signature station already in place, suggesting the building was established two years before the railroad officially registered the stop in 1911. The structure served many purposes and was built by Wright, not by the railroad. Eaves outside beside the railroad tracks acted as a passenger shelter, while the inside of the building acted as a community center and post office, the latter only operating from 1914 to 1915. Despite its impressive size, the station at Glen Arbor only ever served as a flag-stop—it had no railroad staff and did not sell tickets. However, the station did support a 297-foot-long spur, which ran beside the tracks to the south (between modern Glen Arbor Road and Oak Avenue). The spur had a short platform for loading goods and a shed was erected atop the platform, probably to hold supplies used in loading cargo. What purpose this spur served is unclear since this subdivision was seasonally residential, but it may have supported a small fruit industry or a cattle ranch in the hills above the subdivision.

Site of Glen Arbor's station, 2013. [Google Street View]

By the end of 1909, most of the subdivision was sold and the task of actually developing the properties began. People were slow to build, however, and, over time, parcels were merged into larger lots and permanent, year-round dwellings were erected, notably immediately before World War II. The railroad stop remained on timetables until the decommissioning of the branch in January 1934, although passenger service was terminated at the end of 1930. The station was repurposed as a private residence for a while, but was replaced in 1947 with a more modern dwelling. Soon after the abandonment of the railroad line, a bridge was installed over the San Lorenzo River, finally connecting the residents of Glen Arbor directly to the main highway artery of the valley. 

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
37.0744N, 122.0814W (8121 Fremont Avenue)

A home still occupies the site of Glen Arbor Station while the right-of-way itself is partially overgrown and partially Lorenzo Way, located between Hermosa Avenue and Fremont Avenue along Glen Arbor Road near the bridge over the San Lorenzo River. Nothing remains of the station itself and the even the fate of the station sign is unknown. The right-of-way to the south continues down the poorly-defined Schaaf Road, which is today interrupted by fences and two homes built atop the right-of-way. There is currently no way other than trespassing across private residences to connect to the undeveloped right-of-way north of Brackney. North from Glen Arbor, the right-of-way continues paralleling Lorenzo Way until crossing Arden Avenue. From this point, the railroad passed through the properties on the east side of Lorenzo Way as the road curves around the San Lorenzo River across from Highlands Park. Where Lorenzo Way ends, the route eventually takes a sharp turn east, passing through ill-defined properties, before meeting Glen Arbor Road just north of the Quail Hollow Road junction. It continues running on the west side of Glen Arbor Road until finally crossing the road just before Love Creek.

Citations & Credits:

• Clark, Donald Thomas. Santa Cruz County Place Names: A Geographic Dictionary. Second edition. Scotts Valley, CA: Kestrel Press, 2008.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.

Stations: Brackney

It must be stated from the start that this is not solely the story of Brackney station, but rather three stations that all appeared at or near the same site within the Brackney subdivision located to the east of California State Route 9 between Felton and Ben Lomond. The Brackney area is unique within the San Lorenzo Valley in that it is one of only two places where the state highway meanders onto the east bank of the San Lorenzo River (the other locale is Ben Lomond). But the river at Brackney is also unusual in that it veers dramatically to the west for a brief moment, creating a high plateau at the foot of the adjacent hill. Steep hillsides fall to the river on either side of this plateau, confining it and keeping it separate from any other place in the valley.

E. J. Rubottom and Will Glass, relatives
and friends who journeyed together during
the Yukon Gold Rush. [Ancestry.com]

The Felton & Pescadero Railroad was not afraid of the Brackney area when it first graded through here in 1884, but it should have been. The San Lorenzo Valley Flume had wisely built through the center of the plateau. This still required high bridges over the river, but the flume did not also have to contend with landslides. The railroad, undoubtedly seeking to avoid the construction of expensive bridges, took a more dangerous course, drilling and mining a right-of-way along the steep eastern cliffs above the river, cliffs that were proven to be made of sandstone rather than granite. Several graders died while cutting through this section and it remained the most problematic portion of the route to Boulder Creek throughout its fifty years. Even today, this portion of the former right-of-way shows signs of old and recent slides and the roadbed has risen dramatically as a result.

When the grading crews first entered this section, they passed through the lands of Emphrey Jones Rubottom, who had purchased the lands in 1878 from his stepfather, Almus L. Rountree. It is not entirely clear what Rubottom and his family used the land for, although it seems certain that some of it was used for farming since Rubottom filed several patents for farming equipment during this time. Whether Rubottom was granted an unregistered train stop by the Felton & Pescadero Railroad is unknown, and the Southern Pacific Railroad only registered such a station in 1890. It was around this time—and the station is probably a result of this—that Rubottom and his half-brother John Almus Rountree began harvesting tan oak and timber on their two properties, which collectively occupied the entire plateau. How long the operation lasted is unknown, but the stop did appear briefly in 1907 on railroad timetables suggesting it was still active at that time. However, when the tracks were standard-gauged early the next year, Rubottom's stop disappeared.

At the time Rubottom was removed from station books, another stop appeared named Pettis. Employee timetables appear to have mistakenly situated this at the site of Riverside because it subsequently appeared further to the north in the Brackney area. Pettis was only ever listed as an Additional Stop and nothing is known about it. It had no spur or siding and must have simply been a flag-stop for locals in the Brackney area. Even the name—Pettis—is of unknown origin although it likely relates to a local property owner, possibly a family that briefly purchased Rubottom's property.

The history of the area becomes much more clear from this point forward. Alonzo L. Brackney had lived in Felton since 1889, having moved from Pennsylvania originally. He owned land immediately north of Rubottom's tract and when Rubottom died in 1913, Brackney purchased the rest of the plateau from his heirs. Like so many other aspiring entrepreneurs in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Brackney hoped to develop a small resort on his property and it was ideally situated and appropriately rustic for such a purpose. He named the resort Camp Brackney and installed cottages and tent cabins throughout the property. The proprietors of the Hotel Rowardennan in Ben Lomond managed the resort.

The sharp turn at Brackney before heading around the bend toward Glen Arbor, c. 1920. [The Valley Press]

At Brackney, Southern Pacific kept things simple. With the tracks now upgraded and the former spur removed, only a small shelter was needed at Brackney—something that would protect people waiting to board the train but not require anything more. The small cross-shaped shelter supported three sets of benches beneath a roof that had "Brackney" emblazoned on a sign atop it, while passengers would have to use a flag to wave down a passing train. An identical-styled structure was used at Newell Junction, further to the north, and at Asilomar on the Monterey Branch. Because of the sharp turn on the approach through Brackney, a check rail was installed to avoid the wheels from slipping.

The former site of Brackney station (at right) along the final stretch of Brackney Road. [George Pepper]

Brackney never proved itself as a successful resort and, from the beginning, Brackney began parceling out his property for use as a seasonal homes. Out of the way along a route declining in use and popularity, Brackney fully embraced its status as a housing subdivision in the late 1920s. Brackney himself had hoped to start an entirely new small township on his land, which he called "San Lorenzo," but the new homeowners continued on with just Brackney. While a few businesses did spring up both beside the railroad tracks and on either side of Highway 9, no formal township formed on the plateau. The station remained on timetables until the line shut down in January 1934, although all passenger service ceased at the end of 1930. The remnant right-of-way was purchased by the City of Santa Cruz Water Department probably in the late 1950s as a part of their Newell Creek reservoir project and it continues to be used as a service road today.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
37.0685N, 122.0786W

Brackney's station sign atop a home near the former
station site, 2015. [George Pepper]

The site of Brackney is near the top of Brackney Road off State Route 9. As the road turns to the south, visitors can see a chain-linked gate to the left. This marks the old right-of-way north to Glen Arbor. The station site is just down the road to the right and is barely visible as a slight pullout on the east side of the road. To the south, the right-of-way continues down the road a short distance before turned down a Santa Cruz Water Department access road that marks the former railroad right-of-way. Throughout this area, the right-of-way survives and can be generally hiked upon, with caution, although it is strictly-speaking water district land. To the south, the former route wraps around the San Lorenzo River, passing through a cut, before ending at the back gate of the Rose Acres Tree Farm. To the north, the road briefly parallels Brackney Road before passing through two gates and on around the San Lorenzo River, ultimately ending at the fence of a home on Fremont Avenue in Glen Arbor. Further exploration is impossible in either direction without trespassing on private property. The station sign still survives atop the garage of a nearby home.

Citations & Credits:

• Clark, Donald Thomas. Santa Cruz County Place Names: A Geographic Dictionary. Second edition. Scotts Valley, CA: Kestrel Press, 2008.
• Rountree, Edward T. "A Commentary on the book 'South Pacific Coast' by Bruce A. MacGregor". Santa Cruz, CA: University Library, 1974.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.
• "Will Glass / E J Rubottom Photo", Glass Family Highlights. Posted March 1, 2008. Accessed December 13, 2018.

Stations: Riverside

When the Santa Cruz & Felton Railroad arrived in Felton in 1875, it was situated on the west bank of the San Lorenzo River. On the east bank, the area was mostly just pasture land—former forest harvested decades earlier by Isaac Graham's logging crews during the days of Mexican California. By 1873, the plot of land beside the river ford was owned by John S. Hager, who decided to build a picnic ground in the low flat created at the confluence of Zayante Creek and the river. In 1881, the location was named Camp Felton, just in time for the arrival of the Felton & Pescadero Railroad, the right-of-way for which passed directly beside the picnic area.

On June 17, 1880, the Santa Cruz Weekly Sentinel published a short commentary noting the merits of the area as a picnic grounds:

Within a few hundred yards of Felton, just across the San Lorenzo and between it and the Zayante, lies the prettiest spot for picnics and camping parties on the whole San Lorenzo. It has been used by the people of Felton to picnic at for many years, and the grove has been partially cleared of underbrush, avenues and winding walks have been cut, rustic seats put in many places, tables and benches to accommodate a great many put up, a large dancing floor laid, and many other things done to make it pleasant and comfortable, but the place has been known to few besides the Feltonites. Now that the S. P. C. R. R. is in running order, picnic parties have discovered this lovely retreat, and it is occupied from a party from San Francisco numbering some two hundred, who propose to stay some time. They are very comfortably settled, having sent down in advance three car-loads of freight, with men to put up tents and arrange things for housekeeping. They have thirty four white tents among the green trees, and the camp has a very cheerful, animated look. There is a large majority of women and children during the week, but on Saturdays the husbands and fathers come down to spend Monday with their families in the quiet shades of this most beautiful grove. They spend their time hunting, fishing, bathing, gathering ferns, flowers, etc., and in visiting the different lime kilns, mills, big trees — which are only a short mile from camp — go to Santa Cruz and take a plunge in the ocean and come back on the next train.

George Treat, a prominent Felton entrepreneur and lumberman, took over Camp Felton in 1885 and helped develop it into a seasonal retreat. He advertised widely to attract seasonal campers, and the nearby Felton Station was certainly a draw. But other more appealing camping and picnic areas throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains increasingly offered more attractions. Treat leased the property to Joseph Ball in 1891, who renamed the place Maple Grove even though there were no maple trees there. It was under Ball's proprietorship that the Felton Covered Bridge was completed in 1893, allowing the residents of Felton to directly access the picnic area without needing to ford or wade through the river.

An oxen team hauling a log alongside the tracks near Maple Grove, c. 1890s. [The Valley Press]

The direct railroad history of the location begins in 1903, when the Southern Pacific Railroad added a flag-stop for the picnic area under the uninspired name River Station. This stop was intended exclusively for passengers visiting Maple Grove and it appears that no formal structures were ever installed there by the railroad. Just before the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, the stop was renamed Riverside and placed on the formal timetable, albeit without scheduled stops. Curiously, at the same time, the picnic grounds were officially renamed Felton Grove and Felton Baseball Ground, under the management of Glass and Draper. It can be assumed that the baseball diamond was installed at around this time. The station remained unchanged until the line was standard-gauged in 1908.

Felton Baseball Grounds beside the railroad right-of-way, c. 1910s. The large, shaggy tree is still standing within the parking lot of Felton Bible Church. [Vicki Wees]

The removal of the Felton Branch and its replacement with a spur across the San Lorenzo River beside the covered bridge seems to have marked the end of Riverside. In 1909, it was seemingly renamed Pettis, but the next year, that location appeared at the site of Brackney further down the Boulder Creek Branch suggesting the renaming was simply an editorial mistake. River Station and Riverside arose during a time that saw a massive expansion of excursion services and summer picnic trains throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, so it is perhaps not surprising that it appeared when it did. However, its rapid disappearance is odd but may be tied to subsequent developments at the site.

In 1910, David and Alice Goulding were running the Felton Grove Planing Mill & Lumber Yard at or near the site, suggesting the picnic area had disappeared by this year. Little else is known about the site throughout the 1910s including whether or not the mill and yard utilized any railroad spur. Ownership may have changed hands several times, and the property itself may have been subdivided.

Felton Grove Auto Camp in the mid-1920s. [Ronnie Trubek]

Things changed dramatically on May 30, 1922, when the Felton Grove Auto Camp opened its doors on the property. No longer dependent on the railroad, the campground now catered exclusively to auto campers who came with camper trailers and tents. The resort included tennis and basketball courts, a playground for children, tent cabins for families, and scenic paths alongside the river and Zayante Creek. The San Lorenzo River was also seasonally dammed to create an impressive swimming hole just downstream from the covered bridge. In 1937, a new central building that doubled as a dance hall was erected near Felton Grove's entrance on Park Avenue.

The entrance to Felton Grove Auto Camp, 1937, with the railroad tracks to Old Felton in the foreground. [Ronnie Trubek]

Despite some minor improvements throughout the 1930s, Felton Grove Auto Camp was hit hard by the Great Depression. All formal newspaper advertising for the park appears to have ended in 1932. In 1934, the resort became a summer camp for St. Joseph's Military Academy of Belmont, who continued to use the location until at earliest 1938. A bad winter storm in 1938 severely damaged parts of the resort, but the resort reopened in May of that year with a large season-opening dance. For the remainder of the 1930s until the start of World War II, Felton Grove Resort served as a popular evening retreat for locals and visitors alike, even while the military academy students continued to camp outside each summer. Floods could not permanently sway the resolve of the resort owners and visitors. The late 1930s was the heyday of Felton Grove Resort, but then the war came and nobody had time to vacation anymore.

Felton Grove subdivision, circa 1928. The railroad right-of-way can be seen at the top of this map. [Ronnie Trubek]

World War II changed the demographics of the San Lorenzo Valley dramatically and also altered the vacation patterns of Americans. As such, small resorts such as Felton Grove could not compete with larger or more rugged campsites. By the mid-1940s, Felton Grove began evolving into a year-round residential subdivision. Amenities originally offered by the auto camp such as dancing and sporting activities continued through the 1950s, but then faded away as Felton itself evolved into the semi-rural commuter suburb that it is today.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
Approx. 37.0508N, 122.0679W

It is not entirely clear where the location of Riverside was, but it was probably near today's Felton Covered Bridge County Park or the adjacent Valero gas station, which is approximately the point where the Boulder Creek Branch crossed Graham Hill Road. In any case, there were never any structures associated with this stop and, as such, nothing of it survives to the present.

Felton Grove still does survive, although not precisely in the manner it had originally been conceived. The dance hall still sits behind the laundromat on Park Avenue. All of the original camper spots have been converted into residential properties, but terrible winter storms remind residents that the area was only ever intended for seasonal enjoyment, not year-round habitation. The former railroad right-of-way to Old Felton has since been converted into another stretch of squarish properties, but these are not formally a part of the Felton Grove subdivision and were probably parcelled off in the late 1940s.

Citations & Credits: 

• Wees, Vicki. Felton Grove, 2013.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.