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Near Davenport in Santa Cruz County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
 

Swanton Pacific Ranch

The History of Swanton

— As told by Al Smith, July, 1990 —

 
 
Swanton Pacific Ranch Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 2, 2017
1. Swanton Pacific Ranch Marker
Photo: Al Smith
Inscription. 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 areas was visited also.

Mexican Land Grant
On November 2, 1843, Ramon Rodriquez and Francisco Alviso were granted "a square league of land", more or less, by Manuel Michelforena, Mexican Governor of California. It was described as running from Arroyo Puerca to the Cañada 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 Puerca Y Las Trancas. With all the beautiful Spanish language to chose from, it literally means Hog Water and the Bars. Aqua 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 the narrow canyon just south of Waddell Creek. An interesting sidelight is that in the translation on the description to English, the transcriber recognized the word Sierra and left that as the northeasterly boundary instead of using
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"mountain range". Some smart lawyer could have laid claim to a strip through Modesto.
The land passed through several ownerships and ended up in the hands of James Archibald, who farmed it. He arranged for a Swiss dairyman, Ambrosia Gianone, to run the dairy. Mr. Guanine built the cheese house (in 1867) and has 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. Guanine 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 maters 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 areal 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
Swanton Pacific Ranch Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, August 2, 2017
2. Swanton Pacific Ranch Marker
The marker is on the left.
mayor of Santa Cruz, was an early enthusiast of hydro-electric power. He built a power plant on Big Creek, dams on Mill 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 '30s.
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 s far as Swanton. When the S.P. (Southern Pacific) built a parallel line to Davenport, the cement plant business dried up. The San Vincente 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 12.7 missing miles covered by a Stanley
Al Smith image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cal Poly
3. Al Smith
Steamer bus.
The Ocean Shore was also into real estate development, and in 1907 a town called Folger was laid out and approved by by the County in the area around the big barn. Apparently the coffee business was on hard times, 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 '20s 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
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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 Year's
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 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 flowers grower, who grew cut flowers and market peas. Although he tried hard, worked hard, and was conscientious to a 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 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 miles distance is an obstacle, the Swanton Pacific Ranch offers a real opportunity for those who want or need the experience.
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.
Stanton 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.
 
Erected by Friends of the Swanton Pacific Railroad.
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: AgricultureNative AmericansSettlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Former U.S. Presidents: #17 Andrew Johnson series list. A significant historical date for this entry is November 2, 1843.
 
Location. 37° 3.71′ N, 122° 13.679′ W. Marker is near Davenport, California, in Santa Cruz County. Marker can be reached from Stanton Road near Big Creek Road, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 297 Swanton Road, Davenport CA 95017, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Washout 1997 to 2001 (a few steps from this marker); Swanton (approx. 0.3 miles away); Big Creek Light and Power Company (approx. one mile away); Don Gaspar de Portolá (approx. 3.7 miles away); St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church (approx. 4 miles away); Davenport Jail (approx. 4 miles away); Dickerman-Steele House (approx. 5.8 miles away); Steele Brothers' Dairy Ranches (approx. 5.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Davenport.
 
More about this marker. This marker is near the Swanton Pacific Railroad boarding platform.
 
Also see . . .  Stanton Pacific Ranch - Wikipedia. Swanton Pacific Ranch is a 3,200-acre (13 km2) ranch in Santa Cruz County, California, outside the town of Davenport. The ranch is owned and operated by California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) for educational and research in sustainable agriculture . The ranch encompasses rangeland, livestock, and forestry operations for the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and comprises a significant part of the community of Swanton. (Submitted on August 6, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.) 
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on August 29, 2020. It was originally submitted on August 6, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 376 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on August 6, 2017, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.

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Mar. 28, 2024