Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs - The Roaring 1920s

The Roaring 1920s

Further development took place in this vibrant period in American history. Immediately before the Roaring twenties a redwood water tank was built in 1913 and the first concrete pool for mineral water was installed at this site in 1917. In the early 1920s William and Emily McDonald purchased the property from Roop. More guest cabins were added, bringing the total to 24. The guest cabin Arizona was erected in 1924, but unfortunately it was consumed by fire in 1992. A number of the original guest cabins from the 1920s are still extant, each named after a different state. The cabin names are clearly affixed to the front of each structure for easy identification.

Social activity at Gilroy Hot Springs was intense in this period. Bootleg liquor and slot machines drew large crowds for birthday parties, Thursday night poker games, swimming parties, Saturday night dances and local service club socials. Over 500 registrants per day would visit the resort in the peak summer season. The San Francisco Motorcycle Club had an especially notable outing here in 1920 (Gilroy Advocate, 1920).

Automobile use was rising dramatically in this era, so that a frenzy of tree cutting occurred in the early 1920s all along Gilroy Hot Springs Road to accommodate the burgeoning auto arrivals. Yet at the end of the decade, the Great Depression caused resort activity to dwindle. Accelerants to the decline were the death of William McDonald and foreclosure by Roop. By 1934 the Gilroy Hot Springs Post Office was closed, and in 1935 the Southern Pacific Railroad ended its auto stage service to the resort.