Swanton Pacific Ranch - History

History

The Central California region was occupied by the Ohlone Indian Tribe. The tribe resided near Waddell Creek (which runs from east to west) until sometime in the mid 19th century. In November 1843, the land was granted to Ramon Rodriguez and Francisco Alviso by the Mexican Governor of California Manuel Micheltorena. The land grant, named Rancho Agua Puerca y las Trancas, meaning "Hog Water and the Bars", was confirmed by president Andrew Johnson on March 1, 1867. The same year it was sold to James Archibald. To manage the dairy farm he hired Ambrogio Gianone, a Swiss immigrant who constructed the cheese house in 1867 and the barn in 1880 which are still standing. Eventually, Gianone bought a third of the ranch land on the northern end now known as Gianone Hill. After Archibald died in 1875 his wife sold the remainder of the land to Joseph Bloom who continued to use the land for water and farming.

The future mayor of Santa Cruz, Fred Swanton, decided that the land could be used to generate renewable energy. In the last decade of the 1800s he built a powerhouse with two dams on Big Creek and Mill Creek, and generated hydro-electric power for the Central Coast Counties Gas and Electric which became part of PG&E. However, after a forest fire broke out the flume was destroyed and the powerhouse was abandoned. To assist with logging on the land the Ocean Shore Railroad was constructed. It ran along the coast from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. The railroad hauled logs out of Swanton to the San Vincente Lumber Company sawmill in Santa Cruz. The redwood from this logging was used to rebuild San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. In 1922 the railroad was shut down due to a demand for higher wages from its employees.

In the 1920s residents realized artichokes and Brussels sprouts grew well in the coastal area. A dam was installed on Scott's Creek and water was transported to the upper terraces for irrigation. What is now rangeland has remnants of reservoirs from this time period. The Poletti and Morelli families became the owners in 1938. The ranch was divided into three phases: a Grade B Dairy, a beef cattle operation and an assortment of row crops. Later John and Bob Musitelli took over beef and cattle and developed a cow-calf operation. As the Muistelli's expanded their operation the Grade B dairy left.

By 1978 Albert B. Smith, president of Orchard Supply Hardware, acquired Swanton Pacific Ranch. He first learned about the area in a Boy Scout camp there. When the camp closed, Smith bought the land and then over time bought the rest of Swanton Pacific Ranch. In 1993, he donated the ranch to Cal Poly saying:

Swanton 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!" - Albert B. Smith