TO MAKE ENDS MEET

Courtesy of Ross Eric Gibson

In 1905 a visitor from Maine gave his account of arriving at Big Trees Grove:

“We were escorted across the rushing stream over a ticklish-feeling suspension bridge and were soon in the heart of ‘Fremont Grove,’ which was an enclosure surrounded by a high board fence, as this land was private property and the owners derived a good income from the admissions received by tourists during the year.”

A swinging bridge across the San Lorenzo River once defined the entrance to Big Trees Grove. Visitors easily traversed the bridge, walking up to the Giant to begin their tour of the grove. 

One day in 1891 visitors were suddenly greeted by, what the Santa Cruz Sentinel described as "a hideous board fence." Once visitors crossed the bridge, they were then required to pay a 10 cents fee to enter the grove. By 1897 the fee was raised to 25 cents. 

Contrary to the visitor's impression, the charging of a fee did not provide a "good income" to the grove managers. Despite their best efforts each manager left without making a profit. 

Perhaps one reason the grove failed financially is that, even by the early 20th century, it was still being identified with multiple names. As local historian Phyllis Patten said in the Santa Cruz Sentinel in 1959 

"The identity of this beautiful and historical spot is lost in some instances in published articles by its early visitors ... because of not having been given a singular title ... "

Source: “Man From Maine At the Big Trees,” by Haskell, Louis O., [editor of the Pittsfield, Maine Advertiser] Santa Cruz Weekly Sentinel, December 30, 1905 and “Felton and Ben Lomond,” Santa Cruz Daily Surf,  March 26, 1891.