History of Santa Cruz

Welcome to this timeline of some of the prominent events, people, and places in Santa Cruz’s history. You may notice that some aspects of Santa Cruz history are left out or not described in significant detail. The goal of this timeline is not to give a comprehensive history of Santa Cruz, but instead to give an introduction to some of the intriguing, impactful, and often-overlooked moments that helped make the Santa Cruz that you encounter today. In pursuit of that goal, many details and other historical events that have played crucial roles in the city’s history have been left out, but it is our hope that this timeline will continue to evolve into something that authentically and equitably represents the history of Santa Cruz. In this timeline, you’ll find historic images and short descriptions of the people, places, and events that made Santa Cruz to spur your interest, along with resources for learning more about and getting involved with the city’s past, present, and future.

To share thoughts or questions, please contact Communications Manager Erika Smart at esmart@santacruzca.gov. Because history is always unfolding, this page will be reviewed and updated to reflect our community’s growing historical narrative.

Acknowledgments

We hope that you continue to revisit this timeline as a resource for learning more about Santa Cruz’s history and becoming connected with the Santa Cruz community. As more and more people view the timeline and share their feedback on it, it will evolve to better reflect the way Santa Cruzans experience our city’s history. Please contact Erika Smart at esmart@santacruzca.gov if you wish to share your thoughts and questions about the timeline.

This timeline was made possible through the collaboration, input, and feedback of many individuals across the Santa Cruz community. Thank you to Linda Ulbrich (PhD Candidate in History at the University of California, Santa Cruz) for her work brainstorming, researching, and writing this timeline and meeting with and getting feedback from outside experts. Another big thank you to The Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz for funding Linda’s work through a Summer Public Fellowship.

Thank you as well to Erika Smart (City of Santa Cruz Communications Manager) for her collaboration on and management of this project. Her thoughtfulness and leadership brought this project from an idea to fruition. Joyce Blaschke (City of Santa Cruz Community Relations Specialist) and Dr. Tiffany Wise-West (City of Santa Cruz Sustainability and Resiliency Officer) were also instrumental in generating ideas, answering key questions, and forming connections central to this project.

Special thanks also go to Dr. Rebecca Hernandez (Community Archivist at UCSC), Dr. Martin Rizzo-Martinez (Assistant Professor in Film and Digital Media Studies at UCSC), and George Ow Jr. (knower of all things Santa Cruz and all-around wonderful human) for their invaluable advice and feedback. Their expertise and opinions were essential to bringing this project to fruition. Finally, thank you to Jessie Durant (Archives Specialist) and Rebecca Snyder (Archives Coordinator) at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History for their help in sourcing and scanning most of the historic photos featured in this timeline.

Jana Peale (History Teacher, Soquel High School) gave wonderful feedback on the timeline and was a great resource in the brainstorming of this project. Finally, a great big thank you to David Duncan (PhD Candidate in History at the University of California, Santa Cruz) for his support during technical difficulties and throughout this project.