Santa Cruz County History Articles

The Redman-Hirahara house has sat on a 14-acre parcel on the outskirts of Watsonville since William Weeks built it in 1897 for farmer James Redman.

Everyone is invited to take a step back in time at the Agricultural History Project’s annual Easter on the Farm and Egg Hunt April 12 from 11am-3pm.

The rich and colorful history of Ben Lomond comes alive in the second of a three-part lecture series, “Tales of Ben Lomond, Gem of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Part 2” on Saturday, March 22. Doors open at 9:30am and the …

California women have played a significant role in shaping every major industry within the U.S. and the world. Here are a few of them.

San Lorenzo Valley Museum is counting on locals to visit its newest exhibition, “The Way We Calculated,” at the San Lorenzo Valley’s Faye G. Belardi Memorial Gallery in Felton. The exhibition runs until June 15, with a reception on Saturday, …

We hear from the singing group, the Ukes of Bonny Doon, Suzanne, Laurie, Rizzie and Becca, who recently returned from singing and playing at a protest at the state capital. Then, an interview with Amanda Harris Altice and Jenny Evans …

The Highway 17 trek back and forth “over the hill” between Los Gatos and Santa Cruz—with its rush-hour chaos and treacherous turns on rainy days—is a route many are all too familiar with.

Talk of the Bay's host PK Hattis is joined by longtime Santa Cruz Sentinel photographer Shmuel Thaler. Both Thaler and Hattis, who also works as a reporter at the Sentinel, are mourning the death of colleague Jess York, who died …

Hundreds of people came to Santa Cruz Monday to honor Martin Luther King Jr., many waving signs, chanting and singing as they made their way down Pacific Avenue. Their message was one of community, activism and support.

The original road between Watsonville and Gilroy was a narrow, windy turnpike, dating back to 1860.

In 1942, the U.S. and Mexico hammered out a deal that allowed millions of Mexican men to enter the country to work as Braceros.

By Ronnie Trubek

We wanted to end the old year and ring in the new one with a collection of photos from notable events from2024.

By Ronnie Trubek

In 1853, the Methodist Church housed the first group of school children taught by Seneca Carroll in the village of Pajaro (later known as Watsonville).

Ancient “serpent star” fossils, Amphiura sanctaecrucis, not seen in the area since the early 1900s have been unearthed in the Santa Cruz Mountains and donated to the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.

On April Fools Day, 1984, not-yet-a-denizen Thom Zajac was driving over Highway 17 toward Santa Cruz, when he had an epiphany.

Felton Roadside Attraction to Evolve

UCSC astronomer ‘Dr. X’ talks about the stellar history of the Lick Observatory at SC Museum of Natural History lecture/cocktail-party.

A new audio-visual project collects stories from Pajaro residents displaced by the March 2023 Pajaro River flood. (County of Santa Cruz)
Pajaro’s Floods: A Living Archive