Santa's Village
Santa's Village Scotts Valley Property Hostory
In 1958, Santa's Village was created in the wooded hills of the Santa Cruz mountains. This Christmas wonderland served thousands of park visitors each year with its holiday cheer! We need your help creating this site. If you have any souvenirs, pictures or stories to contribute, you can email us here.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
THE SANTA'S VILLAGE PROPERTY
WRITTEN BY GLORY ANNE LAFFEY AND MARION DALE POKRIOTS
February 22, 1991
INTRODUCTION
This report presents the results of the archival research on the history of the Santa's Village property in the City of Scotts Valley. The focus of the research was to document the social and historical background of the property. Archival collections researched were located at the Branciforte Library, the Scotts Valley Branch Library, and the McHenry Library at UCSC, as well as Santa Cruz County public records.
The collections of the Scotts Valley Historical Society and of Charlene Detlefs-Duval were also accessed. The key document from the Detlefs-Duval collection was the memoirs of Grace Errington Hicks. Grace wrote her memoirs in 1916 when she was 78 for the stated purpose of acquainting her children and grandchildren with the early history of the Erringtons in England and Scotts Valley. Ms. Detlefs-Duval received a copy of the unpublished typescript from the family during her extensive research into the history of Scotts Valley. Grace died in 1929 at the age of 91 (Santa Cruz Evening News 1929).
Previous research on the property has been conducted by Archaeological Resource Management for the adjacent Dividend Development Corporation project (Laffey 1988), and by M. Ryan and Archaeological Consulting for the EMC Scotts Valley Auto Plaza project (Breschini 1989 and 1990; Ryan with Breschini 1990). Early surveys that included this parcel were conducted for the Scotts Valley Wastewater Project Service Area (Roop and Barker with Detlefs 1977) and for the Scotts Valley Redevelopment Area Environmental Impact Report (Cartier and Detlefs 1981).
This report will present a narrative of the phases of historical development of the project area, photo-document physical remnants of the Santa's Village complex, and discuss the significance of the site in the overall development of Scotts Valley.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Rancho San Augustin
The City of Scotts Valley was originally part of the 4400+ acre Rancho San Augustin. The first white man to reside in the Scotts Valley area was a Russian sailor Jose Antonio Bolcoff who left his ship in Monterey in 1815. In 1822 Bolcoff married Candida Castro, the daughter of Joaquin Castro of Branciforte and became a Mexican citizen in 1833. In 1833 Governor Jose Figueroa granted the Rancho San Augustin to Bolcoff who built a house to meet the requirements of the ownership (Bancroft 1886; Pokriots 1989). The rancho was bounded on the south by the Rancho Carbonera, on the west by the San Lorenzo River, on the north by Graham Ridge and Vine Hill, and on the east by a ridge of hills above the valley floor (Official Record 1:216; Clark 1986).
In 1834 a group of American mountain men, led by Isaac Graham, arrived in California, many of them settling in the Santa Cruz mountains. Among this group was Joseph Ladd Majors, a young trapper from Tennessee. Majors joined Graham in the redwoods in the Zayante area where he became a partner in a distillery. He married Maria de los Angeles Castro, Bolcoff's sister-in-law, in 1839 and they made their first home at the San Augustin rancho (Bancroft 1886; Pokri-ots 1989).
After Bolcoff was granted the Rufugio rancho, he apparently abandoned the San Augustin Rancho that was granted to Joseph Ladd Majors on 21 April 1841 by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado (Official Record 1:216). An American visitor to the "American colony" that was established at Graham's and Major's ranches in 1841 reported that he was treated to "good beef, plenty of beans and red pepper, good coffee and nice milk" (Pokriots 1989: 17). Majors engaged in stock raising, operating a distillery, and growing wheat. He also built several grist mills in the area (Verado and Verado 1987).
On September 9, 1850, Hiram Daniel Scott signed an indenture to purchase Major's Rancho San Augustin for $20,000, making the first of four $5,000 payments in 1852 (Offi-cial Records 1:405; 1:406). The son of a sea captain, Scott was a native of Maine who had jumped ship at Monterey in 1846. In Santa Cruz, he engaged in early shipbuilding for Judge William Blackburn. Upon hearing of the discovery of gold, Scott headed for the Sierras. Scott established a ferry service to bridge the San Joaquin River to the mining camps in 1848. In 1850 he opened the Stockton House, Stockton's first hotel. Making a fortune in this endeavor, Scott returned to Scotts Valley in 1852. Between 1853 and 1856, Hiram brought his large family, consisting of his father, stepmother, and nine brothers and sisters, from Maine to the San Augustin rancho. About 1853, Hiram, using his shipbuilding skills, constructed the small frame house presently located near the City Hall. Hiram's brother, Joseph, described Scotts Valley in 1853 as a place where horses and cattle roamed wild and "wild clover grew tall enough to tie over the back of a horse" (Surf December 6, 1905). The Scotts has 250 horses and cultivated the virgin soil for grain. The first year they produced 10,000 bushels of barley and wheat that was hauled by ox teams to Santa Cruz and shipped by schooner to San Francisco (Ibid.).
In 1856 Hiram again decided to return to the gold fields, and quit-claimed the ranch to his father, Daniel, for $3200 (Official Record 3:319). Daniel Scott and his wife Nancy occupied Hiram's house until Daniel's death in 1867. Hiram returned to Scotts Valley in 1858, and Daniel reconveyed 1114 acres of the Rancho back to Hiram, and additional Rancho acreage to another son, Joseph (Official Record 4:271). In 1858 Hiram, with Charles McKiernan (Mountain Charley) and F. A. Hihn, formed the Santa Cruz Turnpike Company, completing a road from Santa Cruz through Scotts Valley to the summit to join the Santa Clara Turnpike (Wulf n.d.).
Hiram married Agnes Cummings of Santa Cruz in 1861 and several children were born on his Scotts Valley ranch (Detlefs-Duval 1991). About 1863 Hiram decided to try mining again, this time at the Silver Mountain Mine in Alpine County, a project that ended in financial disaster. In 1869, Hiram operated livery stables in Santa Cruz. Mining opportunities lured Hiram to Arizona in 1874 where he prospected and farmed until his death in 1886 (Santa Cruz Surf April 5, 1886; Detlefs and Bowman 1976).
Joseph and Grace Errington
In December 1865, Hiram sold 1114.956 acres to Joseph and Grace Errington of Petaluma for $6750 (Official Records 8:103). This ranch was bounded by the ridge of hills on the east, the San Jose Road (Scotts Valley Drive) to the west, Vine Hill on the north and a line near the present Disc Drive on the south. In her memoirs, Grace Errington described coming to Scotts Valley as a bride of six months. While her husband was moving his dairy herd overland from Petaluma to Scotts Valley, in December 1865 Grace took the train south from San Francisco to San Jose, then boarded the stage to travel over the mountains to San-ta Cruz where she waited for Joseph and the household goods to arrive. The couple's furniture was shipped by schooner to Santa Cruz and hauled by wagon to Scotts Valley in January 1866. After an arduous journey through the wilderness between Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley, the weary couple arrived at Daniel Scotts's house at 8:00pm, where they were served supper and spent the night. The following day the Errington's occupied the Hiram Scott ranch house and immediately established the first dairy ranch in Scotts Valley. The parlor of the house became a temporary milk room, and the pantry was dedicated to making butter. The kitchen was partitioned, half for Grace, and half for dairy operations. Joseph and his dairymen built a dairy house, corrals and barns for the dairy herd of 40-60 cows and swine (Hicks 1916).
Joseph Errington, a native of Northumberland, came to California from England in the early 1850s. He was a stonecutter for several years before establishing a dairy in Petaluma, Marin County. In 1864 he returned to England to visit relatives, where he met 27 year old Grace Patterson, a family friend. Grace had been teaching since the age of 17, running a school for girls near London. The couple was married July 19, 1865 in London and arrived back in San Francisco in September 1865. Joseph desired to relocate his dairy operation and spent the next several months visiting areas in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties before finally deciding to buy Hiram Scott's property in December 1865 (Santa Cruz Sen-tinel 1870; Hicks 1916).
The Errington's soon discovered that the property that they had purchased had been poorly surveyed, leading to numerous boundary disputes. To keep peace Errington deeded portions on the ranch perimeters to their adjacent neighbors. He also sold off several parcels reducing the ranch to 740 acres. Scotts Valley during this period was only sparsely popu-lated. Grace describes their nearest neighbors as the families of Daniel and George Scott, the Jarvises on Vine Hill, and the Zieglers and Wagners who operated a tannery near the present Lockewood Lane (Hicks 1916). Errington sold 290 acres on present Glenwood Drive to Hiram's brother, George Edwin Scott in 1867, where he also established a dairy ranch.
Unfortunately, Joseph's health began to fail soon after arriving in Scotts Valley. He died in November 1869 at the age of 49, just four years and four months after he and Grace were married (Santa Cruz Sentinel 1870; Hicks 1916). Joseph left Grace with two children: Mary born in 1866 and Landreth born in 1868. Joseph's estate was valued at $25,000 with a dairy herd of 105 animals, equipment, and the remaining 732 acres of the ranch. Joseph's will stated that his estate should be divided equally between his widow and two children, with a codicil leaving a 1/20th share of the children's portion to Ellen Dagleas.
Grace Errington Hicks
Grace apparently leased the ranch to John Dagleas who was married to Joseph Errington's niece, Ellen Dagleas. The 1870 census lists John and Ellen, both born in England, as managers of a dairy in Scotts Valley. The agricultural census for 1870 indicates that Dagleas was operating a 700 acre farm that included 70 milk cows, 30 other cattle, 31 swine, and 4 horses. Production of the farm included $100 orchard products, $9500 butter, and 50 tons of hay. Errington's probate records indicate that Dagleas rented the dairy for about $3100 per year (Agricultural Census 1870). Grace and her children are not listed in the 1870 population census; however, in subsequent years probate records indicate that Grace continued to collect rent was involved to some extent in the dairying operations with John Dagleas (Ryan 1990). It is not known if the Dagleas's were residing with Grace Errington or had a separate dwelling; however, it seems likely that they shared a home during this period.
In September 1874, Grace P. Errington married Achilles Scipio Hicks, a native of Georgia and a lumberman in the San Lorenzo Valley. In 1875 the newlyweds constructed a new home that stood on Navarra Drive and it is possible the Dagleas's continued to reside at the former Scott/Errington residence for a few more years. A. S. Hicks took over the dairy in 1878 relocating the center of operations to the Granite Creek Road area. The 1880 population census enumerates A. S., a dairyman; Grace; and their six children: Mary and Landreth Errington, Nathaniel Hicks, and George, Percy, and Jesse Hicks. Nathaniel was Achilles' son by a former marriage. John Hicks, Achilles' nephew, worked with him in the dairy. John Dagleas, listed as a dairyman, and his wife Ellen are listed as a separate household (U.S. Census 1880). The 1880 agricultural census indicates that Hicks controlled 786 acres with the following livestock: 60 milk cows, 24 other cattle, 55 calves, 32 swine, 24 poultry, 2 horses and 2 mules. Production included 8300 pounds of butter and 115 tons of hay. John Dagleas was operating his own 400 acre dairy in 1880 with 26 milk cows, 25 swine, 10 horses, and 48 poultry. Production included 2400 pounds of butter, 400 dozen eggs, 300 bushels potatoes, 300 bushels apples, and 60 tons hay (Agricultural Census 1880).
In an 1887 newspaper description of the Scotts Valley dairy district, seven operating dairies are described including the dairies of John Dagleas and the Hicks' Live Oak Dairy:
Only a small portion of Mr. Hicks seven hundred acre farm is under cultivation, the rest being pasture and timber land. The great industry on this place is cheese and butter making, which is carried on extensively (Santa Cruz Daily Surf 1887).
Landreth Errington
In 1885 A. S. Hicks petitioned the court for permission to assume administration of the Joseph Errington estate, an action that was vigorously protested by some of the heirs. Upon reaching the age of majority in 1889, Landreth Errington presented a lengthy petition to the court charging Hicks with mismanagement of his inheritance (Ryan 1990). Resulting from this action, Grace Hicks and Mary Errington conveyed 215.37 acres to Landreth in November 1893 (Official Record 98:177). This property was bounded by the lands of his mother, the late George E. Scott, O. W. Felker, and Mrs. Kloss and would have included the former Scott/Errington home and dairy. The 1900 population census lists Landreth Errington, a single man living alone, as owning his own farm.
On 30 November 1905, Landreth married Julia Smeig, a native a Sitka, Alaska, and a resident of Oakland. According to Albert Errington, born in 1908, his father built the couple's home in 1905 before his marriage (Errington 1988; Clark 1991). This conflicts with the memory of Arthur Hicks, Albert's older step-cousin born in 1896, who recalls that the Landreth Errington home was present before 1905. Arthur believed that the house had been built by Joseph Errington (Detlefs-Duval 1991). [Further discussion of conflicting information will be presented in the conclusion of this report.]
Not long after the Errington's marriage, the ranch was threatened by a raging forest fire that had originated on the Kloss place. The Harrington's pastureland (former George Scott ranch) was blackened and Landreth lost a large amount of four foot wood, that he was planning to sell. The fire swept over the northern part of the Hicks' ranch and was finally contained at the junction of Granite Creek Road and Branciforte Drive (Santa Cruz Surf 1906).
Landreth farmed and carried on a small dairy operation at this site for a number of years. The farm was located at the terminus of Vine Hill Road that extended from the old State Highway (Glenwood Road). A barn stood on the right of the house and water was provided for household use by damming Carbonera Creek. A ram pushed the water into a tank, from which the water was piped to the house. Cultivated fields and pastureland extended from the front and north side of the Errington home to Vine Hill Road. An orchard was set out behind the barn near the creek. Vegetable gardens were planted on the east side of the creek (near the polo barns) and between the house and the barn (Errington 1991; Clark 1991; and Frapwell 1991). In 1914 the realignment of the State Highway right-of-way intruded into Errington's property. Maps of this road alignment illustrate the placement of the buildings that were then present (Ryan 1990; State of California 1914). The USGS map of the area in 1915-16 also shows the structures in this location.
William Trott
On 11 January 1918, Landreth and Julia sold 62.37 acres to William Trott for $6622. This land was bounded on the south by the Frapwell property (formerly A.S. Hicks Live Oak Dairy), on the east by Carbonera Creek and north and west by Vine Hill Road (Official Record 280:94). Landreth and Julia moved to the Crittenden place on the north side of Vine Hill Road (Clark 1991). William Trott was a rancher and a native of Illinois. He and his wife, Mabel, were living on Vine Hill Road in 1922 (SCC Directory 1922). By 1924 the Trotts had moved to Twin Lakes in Santa Cruz, where William was listed as a rancher (SCC Directory 1924). William died 17 September 1924 at the age of seventy-two and was retired at the time of his death (SCC Deaths 7:41). Mabel C. Trott continued to own the Santa's Village property until 1936.
Ken Clarke and Elvis Frapwell, long-time local residents, remember a man name Payne or Paine living on the property when they were young boys. Paine may have leased the farm from Trott. Albert Errington does not remember a Mr. Paine; however, he recalls that Mrs. Trott's son by a previous marriage, Mr. Arlington, helped the Trotts at the ranch (Clarke 1991; Frapwell 1991; Errington 1991).
Robert B. Law
In 1930 Landreth Errington sold the adjacent 128 acres on the the west side of Cabonera Creek to Marion Hollins, wealthy New York socialite and sportswoman (Official Record 175:375). Hollins, the developer of the Pasatiempo golf club, established Vine Hill Farm on the Scotts Valley property, constructing a residence and horse barns for the breeding and training of polo ponies (Laffey 1988). In September 1935 Hollins sold the farm to Mrs. Frances B. Law, who transferred the property to Lawridge Farm, Inc. in February 1936 (Official Records 294:201; 297:492).
On 13 April 1936, Mabel Trott sold 22.22 acres to Lawridge Farms. This land was bounded by the property of George Frapwell, the former lands of Marion Hollins, and what is now Highway 17, and included the former Errington farmhouse (Official Records 309:11).
Lawridge Farm, Inc. was a Los Angeles based corporation presided over by Frances Law. Her son Robert was the vice-president (Official Record 426:216). The Laws were a very wealthy and influential Westchester, New York, family, who were backing the new (1935) Pogonip Polo Club in Santa Cruz. Bob and his brother, Ted, were nationally recognized polo players (Wilson scrapbook; Santa Cruz Evening News 1935).
Robert Law and his bride, Katherine Lewis Law, moved into Hollins' William Wurster-designed complex at Vine Hill Farm. On this property, which was renamed Lawridge Farm, Bob bred and trained his polo ponies. He also raised beef cattle, hogs and goats, and planted crops of hay, grain, and corn (Country Life 1936; Wilson scrapbooks). In 1940 the Lawridge Farm corporation was dissolved and 151 acres were transferred to Robert Law (Official Record 426:216).
In 1943, the Laws purchased the 8000 acre Rancho Cienega de los Paicines in San Benito County, where they relocated. Lawridge Farm became a summer place for the entertainment of the their wide circle of family and friends (Pierce 1977; McLoon 1988; Rydell 1991). Among these friends were Svea Linquist and Olga Olson, both Swedish immigrants, who took up residence in the former Landreth Errington home.
Misses Linquist and Olson
As a young woman Svea Victoria Linquist had come to the United States for a visit and had stayed to take a position as governess or nursemaid with the Law children. She was born in Goteburg, Sweden, in 1881. She was from an affluent family and attended a private school, where she met Helga Ottilla Olson. Helga's family manufactured shoes in Goteburg. As a young woman, Helga came to the United States to visit a brother who raised strawberries on Bainbridge Island near Seattle, Washington. At some point the two ladies were reunited.
While living in Europe, both women had studied landscape gardening. Svea attended schools in England and Sweden and Helga was trained in Germany and Denmark. These schools were underwritten by the aristocracy. About 1925 both ladies were living in California, probably on the San Francisco peninsula. They became gardening consultants for wealthy clients who owned estates in the San Mateo area. During the 1930s, they were owners of the Rock Garden Nursery in San Mateo.
In 1943 Svea and Helga came to Santa Cruz County, where their friends the Laws were living at Lawridge Farm. They moved into the Errington house, which had been remodeled by Darryl Palmer, a well-known Santa Cruz contractor. The first floor consisted of a combination living-dining room, a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bath. There was a front porch with wicker furniture and a back porch partitioned for a sleeping porch and utility room. Up a flight of stairs there was a loft where the ladies worked at their looms. Christmas was always celebrated in the loft where a Christmas tree with wonderful Swedish ornaments stood on display.
At the front of the house, Svea planted a birch sapling from Sweden that she had smuggled into the U.S. under her fur coat. Each spring, when buds appeared on the tree, Svea would cut branches for indoor arrangements. The buds would open in the warm room.
Svea and Helga planted camomile (as in tea) for ground cover and created a rock garden between the front fence and the house. Behind the house was a garage and tool shed. At the end of this building was a patio for outdoor dining. On the north side of the garage, they kept a compost pile. Between the house and the big barn, they raised vegetables and cut flowers. An herb garden was always under cultivation between the vegetable garden and the greenhouse. A lathhouse was attached to the greenhouse near the patio.
About 1948 a young couple presented themselves at Svea's and Helga's front door. Roy Rydell and his wife were in the area looking for a caretaker's position. The Rydells were graciously invited to supper and a lasting relationship was formed. Svea and Olga asked Robert Law if the Laws could use another hand. The Laws were agreeable and they provided the Rydells with their guest house named "Cowslip." This charming dwelling had been a dairy house and was located near the polo barns. (It had not been part of the Errington dairy.) The Rydells remained about a year and during that time, Svea and Olga would take Roy to the Peninsula, where they were still engaged as gardening consultants. Roy, the struggling young artist, was to become a landscape architect through the efforts and training of these two marvelous Swedish ladies (Rydell 1991).
[Roy Rydell was engaged as the landscape architect for the Pacific Garden Mall in Santa Cruz, Abbot Square beside the Octagon Museum, Plaza Branciforte on Soquel Avenue, the Town Clock Plaza, the Communication Building at UCSC, Deer Park Center, Santa Cruz City Hall Annex, and the Alfred Hitchcock estate (Chase 1979). He also constructed a lovely garden pool at the residence of Donald T. Clark, Santa Cruz County place name historian (Clark 1991).
Santa's Village of Santa Cruz
On 13 June 1956, legal transactions were initiated for the sale of Lawridge Farm to a group of investors headed by H. Glenn Holland. Include in the investment group were Holland and his wife Carolyn, Donald and June Kelley, Leonard and Shirley Ray, Tanner G. Wilson, Stephen and Jean Wyckoff, and Eugene and Mildred Adams. Several documents were signed in 1956 by the Laws and the Holland group, stemming from a lease agreement between Holland and Santa's Village of Santa Cruz (Official Documents 1079:342, 1081: 70, 1082:40, 1085:120, 1093:154). Santa's Village leased 25 acres, which was a portion of Lawridge Farm, located in Scotts Valley seven miles northeast of Santa Cruz. The lease commenced on 30 May 1956, and was to terminate twenty years later on 29 May 1976.
H. Glenn Holland was a southern California developer, who had opened a Santa's Village in 1955 near Lake Arrowhead in San Bernardino County. With the success of this venture, he undertook to establish another "Village" in northern California deciding on Scotts Valley. Santa's Village Corporation offered ten percent of the park's stock to local investors at $45 a share. Holland went on to build a third Santa's Village near Chicago in Dundee, Illinois (Santa Cruz Sentinel 1988).
Ground was broken in August 1956 and nine months later and after almost a million dollars in construction costs, contractor Putnam Henck had the park ready for business. The park opened on May 30, 1957, to large crowds. On hand for the opening ceremonies was Carl Hansen in the official uniform of Santa Claus. Hansen, a native of Denmark, was living in San Bernardino when he was asked to be the Santa for the new park being built in Scotts Valley. Hansen was to reign over the "village" for approximately eight years, after which he starred in the Hocus Pocus Show on Channel 11 television for ten years. Richard Bellack, who owned the rides, was the first resident-manager. In 1958 Bruce Prather took over the management of the park (Santa Cruz Sentinel 1957, 1988; Hansen 1991).
Besides Santa and Mrs. Claus, there were elves and gnomes, who operated the rides and sold tickets. Goats, sheep, bunnies, ducks, deer, and a Mexican burro were part of the baby zoo, where children could feed the animals. Four reindeer from Unalakleet, Alaska, pulled Santa's sleigh. There was a bobsled ride, a whirling Christmas tree ride, and a miniature train ride. Other attractions were a giant Jack-in-the-Box, an Alice in Wonderland maze, Santa's enormous boot, brightly painted cement mushrooms, and a Queen of Hearts figure.
Santa had a huge mailbox, a gingerbread house, a toy factory, a lollipop tree, and a gift shop. Around the village were tree-top tall wooden soldiers and candy canes. Mrs. Claus had a kitchen, where hamburgers, hotdogs, and steak sandwiches were served. An egg-shaped cottage and a shoehouse were open for exploration. There was a hook and ladder fire engine and a tractor to climb on and a treehouse with a connecting slide to delight children. The buildings were log chalet-type structures, which featured snowy roofs and gingerbread trim.
Creatures from Alice in Wonderland, Jack Pumpkin Head, the Easter Bunny, Little Bo Peep, and a Good Witch wandered throughout the grounds, greeting youngsters. Appropriate music flowed from speakers in the trees. Structures were continuously painted and paths were kept Disneyland clean. Santa's Village of Scotts Valley, in its lovely redwood setting, was a fairyland for young and old (Scotts Valley Banner 1989; Santa Cruz Sentinel 1957, 1988).
Among the many agreements between the Laws and Santa's Village there was a document that stated that Svea Linquist and Helga Olson would have exclusive use, enjoyment, occupation and possession of one acre and all improvements for their personal residence for and during their natural lives, unless they desired, before their deaths, to relinquish the use of the property. Robert Law would pay all reasonable expenses and costs incurred in the upkeep of the property. Upon the death of the survivor the premises and improvements would became part of the Santa's Village concern (Official Document 1085:120). Svea and Helga continued to live on the property, often spending their holidays with the Laws at the Rancho Cienega de los Paicines. Helga died on March 31, 1971, at the age of 82. Lost with-out her long-time friend, Svea living two years longer and passed away on April 16, 1973 at the age of 92 (SCC Deaths 1971 and 1973; Hauge 1991; Rydell 1991).
On 22 August 1966, Santa Clara County developer, Noorudin Billawalla, purchased the Santa's Village property from H. Glenn Holland, et al. (Official Record 1780:717). Billawalla continued to lease the property to Santa's Village Corporation. In 1977, after the corporation had filed for bankruptcy, Billawalla bought the "Village" for $615,000 (Official Record 2821:447; Santa Cruz Sentinel 1988). The City of Scotts Valley rejected Billawalla's plan to create a Knott's Berry Farm-type complex, which would have included a hotel, a shopping center, and rides. Billawalla then changed the park's name to "The Village" and promoted an Arts and Crafts Fair in 1978, but in 1979, the park's gates were finally closed (Santa Cruz Sentinel 1988).
The San Bernardino and Chicago "villages" are still in operation, having been purchased by Putnam Henck, the contractor who built all three Santa's Villages. According to Henck, "the Scotts Valley park suffered from competition with the beaches and the Boardwalk, and the peak months of November and December could be totally wiped out by rainy weather" (Santa Cruz Sentinel 1988).
Since 1985 the property has passed from Billawalla through the hands of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Dividend Development Corporation, Santa's Village Joint Venture, the City of Scotts Valley, and the Scotts Valley Public Facilities Corporation, and finally to Borland International Inc. in October 1990 (Official Records 3849:60, 4109: 326, 4282:457, 4748:719; Scotts Valley Banner 1991). John Strong has served as care-taker of the property as its various owners have proceeded with development plans. Besides patrolling the property with his dobermans, Strong raises Arabian horses on the park's backside where he and his family reside in the former Marion Hollins ranchhouse (Santa Cruz Sentinel 1988).
In 1985 the Landreth Errington house was razed and in November 1988, 25 diseased bay trees were removed near the Errington home-site (Scotts Valley Banner 1988). Time, neglect and vandalism have taken their toll on the once popular theme park that still holds fond and nostalgic memories for millions of people who visited the park in its heyday.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
The archival research on the history of the Santa's Village project area revealed that this property was the first dairy in the Scotts Valley area. This dairy was established by Joseph Errington in 1865. After Joseph's death in 1869, the dairy was leased and managed by Joseph's nephew, John Dagleas. When Joseph's widow, Grace, remarried, her new husband A. S. Hicks took over the dairy, moving the center of operations to Granite Creek Road. In 1893, 290 acres of the original Errington property were transferred to Landreth Errington, Joseph's son. Landreth called his operation Vine Hill Farm and continued to dairy on the property until 1918 when he proceeded to sell off portions of the ranch. In 1935, the property was purchased by Lawridge Farms where Robert Law raised polo ponies. In 1943, the old Errington home was remodeled for Svea Linquist and Helga Olson who maintained residence until 1973. In 1956 Law sold property to H. Glenn Holland who established one of three Santa's Village theme parks at the site. The park operated until 1979 when it went out of business. At that time the village was abandoned. In recent years the property has been occupied by John Strong who has operated an Arabian horse ranch.
Santa's Village
Today Santa's Village is an abandoned and faded relic of its former glorious past. Having been closed since 1979, the remnants of this once popular fantasyland has become a ghost town and its whimsical structures have deteriorated and been vandalized, in many cases beyond recognition. As part of this study, photographs have been taken of what remains of the village. These photographs, along with historical photographs, are included in the appendix to this report.
From its early years as a stop on the stage route across the mountains, the community of Scotts Valley has provided services to travelers. With the growing popularity of the family automobile in the early twentieth century, the area became more commercialized and tourism developed as a local industry. In the early 1920s, Edward Evers established Camp Evers at the junction of the State Highway and Mt. Hermon Road. Camp Evers consisted of a small store, gas pumps, dance Hall and tents, becoming a resort and rest stop for travelers. The Beverly Gardens were established in the 1930s and featured a collection of exotic birds and animals, a restaurant, and cabins. The Tree Circus was opened in 1947 featur-ing trees grafted and trained in strange and unusual shapes. The Wax Museum and Santa's Village were established during the 1950s. The brightly painted dinosaurs of Lost World were added to the Tree Circus in 1964. All these attractions were supported by numer-ous curio shops, fruit juice stands, and motels (Laffey 1990). Santa's Village was surely one of the most popular of the many attractions, attracting millions of visitors to Scotts Valley for over twenty years, and it was the last representative of Scotts Valley's tourist industry to close its doors.
The dairy industry was the major regional economy in Scotts Valley from the 1860s through the 1920s. By the early twentieth century these small family dairy operations began to consolidate giving way to a large corporate industry. As the dairy industry in Scotts Valley waned, the tourist industry developed gradually taking preeminence. Since the 1960s, Scotts Valley not only has become the bedroom community for Silicon Valley electronic industries, but the electronics industry has replaced tourism as the primary regional economy. The significance of the Scott-Errington/Santa's Village property rests in that it has components that represent important elements of the two former eras in the historical development of Scotts Valley. It is appropriate that this historic property should now host one of the major electronic companies that represents the current era of local industrial development.
LITERATURE CITED AND CONSULTED
Bancroft, H. H. 1886 History of California, Vols. III-V. The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume XXII. San Francisco: The History Company, Publishers.
Breschini, G. S. 1989 Letter report to Jeff Mitchum, EMC, regarding the Preliminary Archaeological Reconnaissance for the Scotts Valley Auto Center. September 1989.
1990 Letter report to Jeff Mitchum, EMC, regarding archival research on the Scott/Errington House site. January 1990.
Bunnett, Sara A., compiler 1989 Marriages from Early Newspapers (1856-1908). Santa Cruz: Genealogical Society of Santa Cruz County.
Cartier, R. and C. Detlefs 1981 Cultural Resource Evaluation of the Scotts Valley Redevelopment Area in the City of Scotts Valley, County of Santa Cruz. Report prepared for Coats Consulting by Archaeological Resource Management, San Jose.
Chace, John 1979 The Sidewalk Companion to Santa Cruz Architecture. Santa Cruz: Paper Vision Press.
Chamber of Commerce of Scotts Valley 1989 Scotts Valley 1989 Directory and Annual Review. Scotts Valley.
Clark, Donald T. 1986 Santa Cruz County Place Names. Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz County Historical Society.
Clarke, Kenneth 1991 Personal communication with Marion Pokriots. Life-long friend of Albert Errington.
County of Santa Cruz 1882 Great Register of Voters. Copy on file at the Santa Cruz City Library, Branciforte Branch.
1914 Index to Great Register of Santa Cruz, State of California. Copy on file at the Santa Cruz City Library, Branciforte Branch.
-----------, Clerk's Office Births. 2:87 Morgan Errington. 3:23 Albert Errington.
Deaths. 7:41 William Trott. 1953 Landreth Errington 1971 Helga Olson. 1973 Svea Linquist. 1983 Julia Errington.
Marriages. O:11:362 Landreth Errington to Julia Smieg.
Probate 1911. Joseph Errington. Decree of Final Distribution, 11 July 1911.
-----------, Recorder's Office. Official Records. 1:216 Deed: Joseph Majors from Governor Juan Bautista Alvarada.
1:405 Deed: Hiram D. Scott from Joseph Ladd Majors.
1:406 Deed: Hiram D. Scott from Joseph Ladd Majors.
3:319 Deed: Daniel Scott from Hiram D. Scott.
4:271 Deed: Hiram D. Scott from Daniel Scott.
8:103 Deed: Joseph Errington from Hiram D. Scott.
98:177 Deed: Landreth Errington from Grace P. Hicks and Mary Errington. 280:094 Deed: William Trott from Landreth and Julia Errington 294:201 Deed: Frances B. Law from Marion Hollins.
309:011 Deed: Lawridge Farms, Inc. from Mabel C. Trott.
426:216 Deed: Robert B. Law from Lawridge Farm, Inc.
1079:342 Deed: H. Glenn Holland, et al. from Robert B. and Katherine L. Law.
1780:717 Deed: Noorudin Billawala from H. Glenn Holland, et al. 2821:047 Deed: Noorudin Billawala from Santa's Village Corporation.
3849:060 Deed: International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers from Noorudin A. and J. Christa Billawala.
4109:060 Deed: Dividend Development Corporation from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
4282:457 Deed: Santa's Village Joint Venture from Dividend Development Corporation.
4748:710 Deed: City of Scotts Valley from Scotts Valley Public Facilities Corp.
4748:719 Deed: Borland International, Inc. from the City of Scotts Valley.
Detlefs, C. 1983 Historical Background of the Scott House Site on Scotts Valley Drive in the City of Scotts Valley, County of Santa Cruz, CA. Prepared for Basin Research Associates, July 1983.
Detlefs, C. and J. Bowman 1976 National Register of Historic Places Inventory--Nomination Form for the Hiram D. Scott House.
Detlefs-Duval, Charlene 1991 Personal communication with G.A. Laffey regarding the history of the Scott and Errington families.
Errington, Albert 1988 Personal communication with Marion Pokriots. Son of Landreth and Julia 1991 Errington.
Farley, M. 1975 A Historical Overview of the Scotts Valley-Santa Cruz Interceptor Line Study Area. On file at Scotts Valley Branch Library.
Francis, P. 1896 Santa Cruz County: A Faithful Reproduction in Print and Photography of its Climate, Capabilities, and Beauties. San Francisco: M. S. Crocker Co.
Frapwell, Elvis 1991 Personal communication with Marion Pokriots. Long-time neighbor of the Erringtons.
Hansen, Carl 1991 Personal communication with Marion Pokriots. First Santa Claus at Santa's Village/Scotts Valley.
Hauge, Tove. 1991 Personal communication with Marion Pokriots. Employed at Santa's Village Doll House and friend of Svea Linquist.
Hicks, Grace P. (Errington) [1916] Memoirs. Unpublished typescript. Detlefs-Duval collection.
Koch, M. 1973 Santa Cruz County: Parade of the Past. Fresno: Valley Publishers.
Laffey, Glory Anne 1988a Historical Evaluation of the Hollins Stables off Highway 17 in the City of Scotts Valley. Report prepared for Harding Lawson Associates.
1988b Historical Evaluation of the Holiday Barn at 100 Santa's Village Road in the City of Scotts Valley, California.
1990a Evaluation of Potential Historic Structures in the City of Scotts Valley. Report prepared for the Planning Department, City of Scotts Valley. April 1990.
1990b Historical Background of the Glenwood Estates Project Area in the City of Scotts Valley. Prepared for Holman & Associates by Archaeological Resource Management, March 28, 1990.
Mack, Dick 1991 Personal communication with Marion Pokriots regarding Santa's reindeer.
McAlester, V. and L. McAlester 1986 A Field Guide to American Houses. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
McLoon, Katherine Law 1988 Personal communication with Marion Pokriots. Widow of Robert B. Law.
Myszak, J. B. 1972 Historical Sketch of Scotts Valley. Unpublished ms., April 19, 1972.
Pierce, Marjorie 1977 East of the Gabilans. Fresno: Valley Publishers.
Pokriots, Marion 1988 Historical background of the Frapwell-Holiday Host Barn at 100 Santa's Village Road. Report prepared for Archaeological Resource Management. December 5, 1988.
1988 Historical background of Lawridge Farm off Highway 17 and East of Santa's Village in the City of Scotts Valley. Report prepared for Archaeological Resource Management. December 19, 1988.
1989 Early Days on San Augustin. Scotts Valley 1989 Directory and Annual Review. Scotts Valley: Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Raymond, I. H. 1975 Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz Development Association.
Roop, William and Leo Barker, with Charlene Detlefs 1977 Cultural Resource Inventory of the Scotts Valley Wastewater Project Service Area. Report prepared for Harris & Associates and the City of Scotts Valley by Archaeological Resource Service, Novato.
Ryan, MaryEllen with Gary S. Breschini 1990 Final Report: Historical Investigations of the Scott-Errington House Site, Scotts Valley Auto Plaza, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz County, California. Re-port prepared by Archaeological Consulting for the EMC Planning Group, February 5, 1990.
Rydell, Roy 1991 Personal communication with Marion Pokriots. Long-time friend of Svea Linquist and Helga Olson.
San Jose Mercury News 1990 Santa's Village fire deemed suspicious. August 22.
Santa Cruz Genealogical Society. Birth and Death Index.
Cemetery Index.
Santa Cruz Evening News 1929 Obituary: Grace P. Hicks. 6 May.
1935a N. Y. Millionaire Woman Buys Vine Hill Farm. 4 September, 1:1.
1935b New Polo Field & Club Planned. 5 November, 1:8.
Santa Cruz Sentinel 1867 Obituary: Joseph Errington. 11 November.
1870 Obituary: Joseph Errington. 1 January.
1874 Marriages: Hicks-Errington. 19 September, 2:5.
1957 Santa Claus Opens Summer House in Scotts Valley. 26 May, 17:1.
1957 Santa Takes up Residence in Scotts Valley. 29 May, 1:3.
1957 Santa's Village Gingerbread House. 31 May, 7:1.
1983 Obituaries: Julia Errington. 15 February, A-12:1.
1988 A Nostalgic Look at Santa's Village. 25 December, 1:3.
1991 Cabins' fate still unresolved. 4 February, A2:2.
Santa Cruz Surf 1887 Scott's Valley - A Region of Fine Dairy Farms and Charming Scenery. April 24, 3:3.
1905 Death of Mrs. Ellen Dagleas. April 4, 8:4.
Scotts Valley Banner 1988 25 Bay trees removed without a permit. 7 December, 2:1.
1989 Santa's Village fantasy structures at end of the line. 23 August, 3:1.
1991 Appeal stops Santa's Village demolition. 23 January, 1:4, 2:1.
Standard Map Service 1952 Standard Atlas of Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz.
State of California 1914 Map of State Highway Route 5, Mile 9.5.
1934 State Highway Maps, Book 1. Map 1A:19. File No. 48.
U. S. Census Bureau 1870 Population Census. Santa Cruz County. On file at Santa Cruz City Library, Branciforte Branch.
1870 Products of Agriculture. Santa Cruz County. On file at Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley.
1870 Products of Industry. Santa Cruz County. On file at Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley.
1880 Population Census. Santa Cruz County, Branciforte District. On file at Santa Cruz City Library, Branciforte Branch.
1880 Products of Agriculture. Santa Cruz County. On file at Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley.
1900 Population Census. Santa Cruz County, Branciforte Township. On file at Santa Cruz City Library, Branciforte Branch.
1910 Population Census. Santa Cruz County, Branciforte District. On file at Santa Cruz City Library, Branciforte Branch.
U. S. Geological Survey 1909 Santa Cruz Quadrangle. Surveyed 1902.
1919 Los Gatos Quadrangle. Surveyed in 1915-16, reprinted 1942.
Verado, J. and D. Verado 1987 Restless Paradise: Santa Cruz County. Northridge, CA: Windsor Publications.
Wallace, John 1859 Plat of Rancho San Augustin.
Warrington, George 1936 Equine Estates Dedicated to the God Polo. Country Life. November 1936:62-63, 82-83.
Western Directory Company 1922 Santa Cruz County Directory. Long Beach.
1924 Santa Cruz County Directory. Long Beach.
Wilson, Mrs. Dorothy Deming Wheeler n.d. Scrapbooks. U. C. Santa Cruz, McHenry Library, Special Collections.
Wright, T. W. 1880 Map of Santa Cruz County, 1880-1881. Sheet 23.
Wulf, W. n.d. A History of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Unpublished typescript.
n.d. A History of the Stagecoaches over the Santa Cruz Mountains. Unpublished typescript.
About the Authosr: GLORY ANNE LAFFEY AND MARION DALE POKRIOTS, Scotts Valley Historical Society Civic Center Drive; Scotts Valley, CA 95066
Santa's Village Website
This Christmas wonderland served thousands of park visitors each year with its holiday cheer! We need your help creating this site. If you have any souvenirs, pictures or stories to contribute, you can email us here.
We're developing this Santa's Village web site to honor the three Santa's Villages and provide a fun resource for all the Santa's Villages in North America.
Your contributions are what will make this web site fun for everyone, so please do contact us and BOOKMARK US because we'll be adding to Santa's Village web site for years and years to come. Also, please link to us and share the Christmas joy with others.
Send us your photos, movies and videos of Santa's Village and we will put them on the website with you name along side!
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