Today, I would like to tell you about the Port of Watsonville complex also known as Port Rogers.
In 1881 Camp Goodall had been leased by Charles Ford who built cottages and a hotel where the Pajaro River meets the Monterey Bay. This area had become a very popular resort that was famous for its clam bakes.
In 1903 two promoters W.J. Rogers and H.H. Main decided to make Watsonville an important seaport on the Central California Coast. They were joined by Watsonville investors to form the Watsonville Transportation Company.
Land was purchases just north of Palm Beach and materials were ordered from San Francisco. Power poles were installed down Third Street (now Beach Street) that connected the port with the City of Watsonville.
The Steam Schooner Aurelia delivered her cargo of piles to the site. Construction began on a 400-foot wharf with a train trestle running to it. The piles ran six abreast with heavy timber bracing. Reinforcement stringers were mortised into the timbers for stability.
Including the trestle, the entire wharf construction project was 1,300 feet.
Construction began on a narrow-gauge electric rail line with two turbine powered enclosed cars. Passengers would ride inside the cars while those cars pulled flat cars and boxcars containing freight. Along the tracks, they constructed a powerhouse to generate electricity, a freight warehouse and a car barn.
The tracks ran from Watsonville down Beach Road to Camp Goodall which was a shipping port at the mouth of the Pajaro River for Pajaro Valley grown produce. Then, the tracks made a wide northern turn to get to the wharf. Lots of other construction was planned on the beach and in the general area of the wharf including a dance hall, hotel and baths, and an area was divided into town lots for future sales.
In August of 1904 the mood was electric awaiting the arrival of the Kilburn. She was 175 feet long with a 30-foot beam. 45 staterooms were located on the upper deck and cargo was contained on the lower deck. She was built especially for the Watsonville Transportation Company. Her maiden voyage from Eureka coming to Port Watsonville was to pick up a cargo of Pajaro Valley produce. People jammed the Electric powered car as well as an observation car to see the Kilburn arrive at the port. It was a day of great anticipation and celebration.
However, in November of 1904, heavy seas and high winds destroyed 200 feet of the wharf. With local producers turning to the Southern Pacific Railroad to ship their produce, the Port of Watsonville was left without a facility and without freight.
Redwood piers were delivered from Green Valley and the wharf was repaired. But their troubles were not over. Teredo Worms had weakened the pilings and soon, 500 feet of the wharf and the approach had fallen into the bay.
It wasn’t long before the company declared bankruptcy and the assets as well as the company were sold. And so goes the short sad history of the Port of Watsonville.
If you would like to know more about Port Rogers or other Watsonville, California, historical events, let me recommend Betty Lewis’s Books: Watsonville, Memories that Linger Volumes 1 and 2.
As I walked down East Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, California, I started to think about all we have lost over the years. If only I could:
See the herds of elk and deer, flocks of pheasants and doves, shoals of steelhead and the abundance of other marine life before the European settlers arrived.
Visit the Santa Cruz Mission when the entire complex was still active and vibrant.
Experience the Santa Cruz Mountains covered with old growth redwoods.
Ride the trollies in Santa Cruz and Watsonville out to the wharfs or take the trains from Watsonville to Santa Cruz to Swanton.
Have dinner and dance on the cement Ship Palo Alto or stay at the Bay View Hotel and watch lumber being hauled to steam ships at Raphel’s Wharf in Aptos.
Swim again at the Saltwater Plunge at the Boardwalk.
Meet the three Hawaiian Princes when they introduced surfing to California in 1885.
Spend the day on Castle Beach and enjoy the spa and restaurant at the Castle.
And so many other things lost to time but all part of our history.
The thing is, once these things were gone, they will never come back. The sad little San Lorenzo Point Park overlooked many of these activities on the list. The spectacular views from the park have been and will be significantly altered over time. Vigilance and protection of this sensitive area should be a top priority.
This little park has a rich history but tends to be overlooked by State Parks mostly due to the size of the park and budgetary constraints.
Currently, the park is in a rundown condition. The human activity is destroying the flora and fauna habitat on the point overlook where the San Lorenzo River conjoins the Monterey Bay.
The boundary fencing has been breached in several places by persons trying to access the beach below. Also, the fence has slipped over the edge and is dangerously close to becoming a tripping hazard and not a barrier at all. If someone were to fall over this “barrier”, the fall to the river below could be fatal. The fence around the entire park is actually in state of disrepair and needs to be replaced by a more substantial fence.
The City of Santa Cruz has done a good job with their fencing along East Cliff Drive at Seabright Beach and the type of fencing should be extended to encompass at least two sides of San Lorenzo Point Park. Only about 300 feet of fencing is needed and a few volunteers to help install it. State Parks might even provide supervision for a workday to get this accomplished.
There are serious health issues with the park being littered with human waste and trash being deposited in the park which leaves it to wash into the river as well as the bay. Many used needles and other drug paraphernalia have been found littering the site.
It is a credit to the Seabright Community volunteers who often pickup this waste and deposit it into the receptacles that the city has provided near the entrance to the park.
It is difficult for this little park to gain any public interest due to its current rundown condition. It has a rich history, but most people don’t know it. The park is sometimes an unsavory place to visit because of abuse and vandalism. It doesn’t even have its’ own identity.
The City of Santa Cruz maintains another San Lorenzo Park. The County of Monterey has a San Lorenzo Park as does the City of San Lorenzo. There are actually many parks with this name all over the world. Because of this, it is quite difficult to find any information about the park on the internet.
To be honest, this park looks more like an abandoned lot in some back alley than a State Parks property. The question is, will someone have to fall over the “fence” to the river below, become infected by blood borne pathogens, or simply be grossed out by the condition of this little park? It really is a stain on the State Parks system to see the condition of the San Lorenzo Point Park.
Will you please help us to mitigate this situation before it is lost forever? Contact local State Parks Maintenance Division telling them of your willingness to volunteer your time to help maintain the park or make a donation to fund the improvements needed including the installation of the new fencing.
