The History of Swanton
As told by Al Smith, July, 1990
Indian Days
 Most of the Indian activity of the Central California Ohlone Tribe took
place in the canyon or valley to the north, Waddell Creek, which runs east
and west and has a greater beach area. Some evidence such as shell piles and
grinding stones, show that the Scott Creek area was visited also.
Mexican Land Grant
On November 2, 1843, Ramon Rodriguez and Francisco Alviso were granted "a
square league of land", more or less, by Manuel Micheltorena, Mexican
Governor of California. It was described as running from Arroyo Puerca to
the Canada de Las Trancas on south and north, to the Sierra on the east, and
the Pacific Ocean on the west. On March 1, 1867, President Andrew Johnson
issued a patent confirming the ownership. The grant was named Rancho Agua
Puerca Y Las Trancas. With all the beautiful Spanish language to chose from,
it literally means Hog Water and the Bars. Agua Puerca probably refers to
the stagnant water in the stream which comes out at Davenport Landing, the
original southerly boundary; and Las Trancas refers to placing poles for a
gate or barrier in a narrow canyon just south of Waddell Creek. An interesting
sidelight is that in the translation of the description to English, the transcriber
recognized the word Sierra and left that as the northeasterly boundary instead
of using "mountain ridge". Some smart lawyer could have laid claim
to a strip through Modesto.
The land passed through several ownership and ended up in the hands
of James Archibald, who farmed it. He arranged for a Swiss dairyman,
Ambrogio
Gianone, to run the dairy. Mr. Gianone built the cheese house (in 1867)
and had some shipwrecked ship's carpenters build the barn (in the late
1880's)
at the south end of the valley, which stands today. (Approximately
one-third of the westerly end of the barn blew off in a severe storm.)
Later Mr. Gianone
bought the north third of the rancho, where Swanton Road crosses back
over the ridge. It is known locally as Gianone Hill, and there are two
families
with fourth generation children living there today.
Mr. Archibald complicated matters by dying in Scotland in 1875. By
the time the dust settled from a two-year lawsuit, Mrs. Archibald sold
out to
Joseph Bloom, who lined up water rights and farmed the valley. Homestead
land was also available and settlers moved right up to the Mexican Land
Grant line,
which replaced the Sierra designation. (The line is still visible on
aerial photos of the area today. Many of these families are still here.
One homesteader
was the Staub Family, great grandparents of Bud and Lud McCrary of
Big Creek Lumber.
The Beginnings of Swanton
Fred Swanton, who built the Boardwalk and was an early mayor of Santa
Cruz, was an early enthusiast of hydro-electric power. He built a powerhouse
on
Big Creek, dams on Mill Creek and Big Creek, and several miles of flume.
The plant produced electricity from 1899 to 1948. In that year a forest
fire burned
the flume, and it was abandoned. It was the first plant of the Central
Coast Counties Gas and Electric Company, which is now part of PG&E.
With all this activity plus the logging, the area needed a post office.
The natives
liked Laurel Grove, the name of the inn and the livery stable, and petitioned
the Postal Service, but Fred Swanton knew the U.S. Senator. The Swanton
Post Office was closed in the late '30's.
The Ocean Shore Railroad was organized to run along the coast between
San Francisco and Santa Cruz. Construction was started from both ends,
with the
north ending at Tunitas Creek, about halfway between Half Moon Bay and
Pescadero. The south line was built as far as Swanton. When the S.P.
(Southern Pacific)
built a parallel line to Davenport, the cement plant business dried up.
The San Vicente Lumber Company logged from 1905 to 1923 in the hills
behind Swanton
and had the Ocean Shore Railroad haul the logs to their mill in Santa
Cruz. Much of the redwood was used to rebuild San Francisco after the
1906 earthquake
and fire. A daily passenger train ran between Santa Cruz and San Francisco,
with the 127 missing miles covered by a Stanley Steamer bus.
The Ocean Shore was also into real estate development, and in 1907
a town called Folger was laid out and approved by the County in the
area
around the
big barn. Apparently the coffee business was on hard times too, because
none of the 324 25 by 100 foot lots sold. So, we still grow Brussels
sprouts on
the corner of Railroad Avenue and Fir Street. In 1922 employees of
the Ocean Shore Railroad struck for higher pay, and that was the end
of the
railroad.
For several years the University of California (Berkeley), College of
Engineering, ran summer school here. Students would come by train and
lay out roads and
survey land for a summer semester. There are many stories told about
cold water, poison oak and snakes, although there are only a few graduates
left.
(The building by the Red House was built by the engineering students.)
Agriculture
Starting in the 1920's it was discovered that artichokes and Brussels
sprouts grew well in the coastal area. Scott Creek was dammed and huge single
cylinder gasoline engines were used to pump the water onto the upper terraces.
There are the remnants of some twenty reservoirs and numerous gravity flow
structures left on what is now rangeland. Some of the leading citizens of
Santa Cruz spent their childhood here on windswept little farms with such
nicknames as "Siberia" or "Poverty Flats". Some berries
were also grown at this time.
In 1938 the Poletti and Morelli Families became the owners. World War
II caused most of the tenant farmers to leave, and the ranch was divided
into
three phases. There was a Grade B dairy, a beef cattle operation, and
row crops. Artichokes and Brussels sprouts being labor-intensive, a
labor camp
was established with mostly Filipino workers.
John and Bob Musitelli took over the beef cattle at this time and,
with a bulldozer and herbicide and fire, opened a lot of waste brush
land. They had a cow-calf operation and used a jeep pickup with bale
of hay
very effectively
as a saddle horse. The Grade B dairy left and the Musitelli's expanded
their operation.
With the use of chicken manure and excellent water supply, the ranch
produced excellent crops of sprouts year after year.
The Swanton Pacific Years
When I bought the ranch in 1978, I left the current tenants in place.
I tried a small cow-calf operation on the Little Creek side, enough to
realize it was a lot different from prunes and apricots. Then the Musitelli's
retired
and I hired a cowboy to run the cattle. We ran stockers at first and
then went cow-calf, at the wrong time.
My vegetable tenant left. Believing there must be something else
in Davenport's world than Brussels sprouts, I leased the land
to flower grower, who
grew cut flowers and market peas. Although he tried hard, worked hard,
and was
conscientious to t fault, he could not make it.
My cowboy got a better opportunity and left. A good friend in
the Cal Poly administration and I had been talking, so we worked
out a deal for
a three-year
lease. We are now on the five-year extension of that lease, and I am
very satisfied, and I hope they are also. I am a graduate of Cal Poly,
and one
of the phases I liked best was the opportunity for "hands-on" experience.
Although the 178 mile distance is an obstacle, the Swanton Pacific Ranch
offers a real opportunity for those who want or need the experience.
It is also good
for class demonstrations.
My first piece of land in this ranch is 412 acres of second-growth
forest, which I bought in 1943. This past summer we logged about
65 acres of
it very selectively. The interest of forestry students and faculty
has been inspiring.
This is almost the closest commercial forest to San Luis Obispo.
Concluding Statement
I know I have wandered from a straight history of the Swanton Pacific
Ranch. It got its name because, somehow, many of my tools were stamped
S.P. The brand
I selected was the lazy SP. It is by the Pacific, and it is in Swanton.
Swanton is an uncrowded, beautiful place. My goal in putting this acreage
together is to preserve it as such and to share it now and in the future
with people who will appreciate it and profit from the experience. Thanks
for listening! |
