Names on the Signs in Santa Cruz - The Farmers

The town of Santa Cruz continued to grow during the late 1860s, but many new names also moved into rural areas, pursuing various agricultural ventures. On the North Coast, dairy farming was soon to become a major industry. One of the pioneers among North Coast dairymen was D. D. Wilder. In partnership with , the two established a dairy farm that became one of the most successful and longest-lasting in the County. That longevity led to the ranch eventually becoming Wilder Ranch State Park, which has restored many of the ranch buildings to their late-19th-century glory days.

The attached map image shows the Wilder and Baldwin dairies in 1889. Some other familiar (to readers of this blog) names can also be found. To the right (east) of Wilder’s ranch is Meder Creek, named after former ranch owner . North of Baldwin, you can see the names Davis & Cowell. That parcel is the former , sold to & in 1869. That land is also now part of the State Park, following a period when it was known as Gray Whale Ranch. To the east of Meder Creek is the ranch . The oldest name of all of the map is Rancho Refugio, originally granted to "The Russian", . 

Logging continued and accelerated as a major industry in the Santa Cruz Mountains, but the cleared land remaining after the loggers moved on provided new agricultural opportunities. Brothers John and George Jarvis planted a new vineyard on the now-bare hillsides above Scotts Valley. They called their new home Vine Hill and became major wine producers. There are still some small vineyards in the Vine Hill – Jarvis road area, but the centers of County wine production are elsewhere and most of the Jarvis hillsides are once again covered by forest.

Out in Branciforte (or Eastside, if you insist) and what later became known as Live Oak, numerous small farmers began to cultivate some of the former cattle lands. William Trevethan was one of them, settling on a 66-acre eastside farm in 1856. According to an 1870 biography published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Trevethan supported himself and his family on his small farm by “cultivating it and hauling lumber with teams, his sons assisting”. The farm’s location is remembered today by Trevethan Avenue, which runs north from Soquel Avenue – chopped in two by Highway 1.

Farther out to the east, Irish immigrant James Corcoran acquired 160 acres near the lagoon that now bears his name. Corcoran was one of the lucky ones during the Gold Rush and apparently used his bounty wisely, becoming a successful wheat farmer and investor.