At the beginning of August 1897, Judge Logan tackled the task of converting 400 acres of former forest into a resort community. It was decided to begin development of “Clear Creek” by concentrating on two tracts. Cottage lots would be laid out between the county highway and the river. The old skid roads leading to the railyard known as Reed’s or Bloom’s Switch would become streets. The first job was to clear away the underbrush that had occupied the landscape. The Mountain Echo applauded the idea of “leaving all tree growths, making a beautiful park of it.” The founding families would build beside the creek, on either side of the main road.
The 38-acre peninsula known as “Grover’s Island” was designated as the principal camping and picnic ground. The earliest road to Boulder Creek had run through this level stretch of bottom land before the inconvenience of fording the river at either end led to the excavation of a route on higher ground. There was plenty of open space and, in addition, a grove of old-growth redwoods that had remained out of reach of loggers. “Island Park,” agreed the Echo, “is certainly one of the most beautiful places in the San Lorenzo valley and now only needs a wagon road too make it a favorite camping resort.”
Friends of the developers were invited to visit. Mrs. Grover’s Sunday School class enjoyed a pleasant picnic on the Island. A camper on “Logan Island” reported a very satisfying fishing trip, bringing in a 21-inch, two and half pound “speckled beauty.”
Judge Logan, who had fished the San Lorenzo for 30 years, knew that the Island was a prime location. Like other local anglers, he was concerned about the future of the sport, having witnessed a sharp decline in the steelhead population. One of the organizers of Santa Cruz’s first Fish Society, he had fought to control sawdust pollution and drafted laws requiring fish ladders at mill dams. During the 1870s. the group convinced the local railroads to bring in loads of hatchlings to help replenish local streams.
Boulder Creek sportsmen hoped to establish a hatchery in the vicinity. The Southern Pacific, recognizing the value of the San Lorenzo as a tourist attraction, expressed interest. Logan quickly endorsed the plan, offering to arrange donations of lumber, nails, and work. And, he added, if owners of riverfront land in Boulder Creek “did not feel disposed to furnish a site he would give one himself at Clear Creek.” Unfortunately, the railroad opted out.
By the end of the year, the work of improvement was well underway. Logan advised the press that: “Lumber is on the ground at Clear Creek for the erection of summer cottages for J. H. Logan and S. F. Grover. A hotel is also to be built there soon.” “A new and popular summer resort will soon be almost a suburb of Boulder Creek,” noted the Echo. “It is only a matter of a few more months.”
- Randall Brown lives in Boulder Creek and works in Felton. He wrote the history of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District and is the co-author of “Santa Cruz’s Seabright.
