Santa Cruz Mountains
Special Distinction
Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 949 (Becker) into law on September 18, designating the Santa Cruz Mountains as a Resource of Statewide Significance. Midpen and the Sempervirens Fund co-sponsored this legislation with strong support from the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, Peninsula Open Space Trust, Amah Mutsun Land Trust and Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority. This designation formally recognizes the region's cultural
November
Native Heritage Month
November marks a shift in weather patterns for the Santa Cruz Mountains with cooler air, falling leaves, and early rains that bring out the mushrooms, banana slugs, and California newts. The frenzy of grape and fruit harvests are over, and low-angled sunlight casts long shadows across the mountain tops. November also brings one of America’s biggest holidays, Thanksgiving. The “First Thanksgiving” took place in Plymouth, MA in 1621 when the Pilgrims shared their first successful corn harvest with local Native Americans. They celebrated with food and games during a three day festival. At the Federal level, President Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving in 1863, and later in 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially set the fourth Thursday of November as an annual holiday called Thanksgiving.
Meet Martin Rizzo
Martin Rizzo-Martinez is a historian and Assistant Professor in the Film & Digital Media Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Martin is the author of a study of Indigenous peoples of the Santa Cruz area, We are not Animals: Indigenous Politics of Survival, Rebellion, and Reconstitution in Nineteenth-Century California, and co-producer, along with educator Daniel Stonebloom, of the podcast entitled Challenging Colonialism.
Murder and the Missions
By Debra Staab
Early Law and Order In the Santa Cruz Mountains, law and order has changed significantly over time. For 10,000 years, dozens of Native Americans in our area kept order through local norms and shared values. They resolved infractions through mediation and restitution rather than punishment. Restoring peace to the community was their goal. In contrast, under Spanish rule, from 1769 to 1821, law enforcement was handled by the military. The Santa Cruz Mountains were under the patrol of the cavalry, known as leather-jacket soldiers. Most were from the Monterey and San Francisco Presidios. They protected the Missions, chased down Native American runaways, and helped resolve local conflicts.
What's In a Name
Debra Staab
Jewel Box The Jewel Box refers to a neighborhood located in Santa Cruz near the border of Capitola where all of the streets are named after precious jewels. The subdivision known as Opal 1 of the Fairview Tract was constructed in 1923 and includes the streets Crystal, Emerald, Garnet, Jewel, Opal, Topaz, Jade, Diamond, and Ruby. The naming convention was likely inspired by a former nearby railroad station called Opal, which was along the Watsonville to Santa Cruz line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The stop was located at today’s intersection of Madrone Avenue and 47th Street.
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