A SUBLIME ROUTE

South Pacific Coast Railroad map from Beauties of California, 1883

"The forenoon passenger, leaving San Francisco by ferry, and taking the cars at Alameda Point, after half an hour’s run across the bay, before ‘a fresh’ning breeze,’ reaches the city by the sea early in the afternoon. The trip is, altogether, a delightful one. Whizzing among the pretty garden grounds of Alameda and Santa Clara, and the elegant suburbs of San Jose; across the broad and highly-cultivated valley of Santa Clara, with ever-varying effects of distant mountain make-up, bewildering, while they charm with their endless variety, the interested but unfamiliar traveler at length perceives, by the undulating contour of the surrounding country, that he is rapidly approaching the foothills of the Coast Range. He is soon among them."

"From Los Gatos, the train ascends rapidly, and is soon moving with graceful curves. A sparkling rivulet ripples far down in the gulch, out of which great redwood trees, many of them giants of their race, lift up their heads above the altitude of the track. Now the traveler or tourist is in the midst of all that is sublime, romantic or picturesque in mountain scenery. Away across the ‘ponderous jaws’ of yawning canons, he catches glimpses of distant hills, bristling with spiky pines, and here and there visions of ‘silent vales,’ as verdant as the consuming Summer sun and the necessities of the mountaineer’s pasturage will permit."

"Then a tunnel; out again; and through the cool and shady forests; stopping at stations in the clouds, where the girls are pretty, and know it; another tunnel; sunlight on the foliage; camps and cabins; weird figures shaped in the forests; cultivated spots and unexpected places; a tunnel; big trees; little trees; sunbeams; wild flowers; cactus; crows, and the summit is passed. These scenes, on the rapid ascent of the mountain from the valley of Santa Clara, are but preparatory for ones greater variety and more interest."

Author's Personal Collection

"The Felton station with its picnic grounds, drives, and enlarged trees, is quickly succeeded by the Big Tree Grove, a locality of monstrous vegetation, the smallest specimens of which would have been spurned as tooth-picks by the giants of old, but possibly used for shoe pegs."

"Moving with ‘sinuous course’ around curves, over an occasional bridge of powerful construction, but mostly along a solid road-bed cut out of the side of the mountain, the expectant traveler is all of a sudden delighted with a view of the Great Wild Canon of the San Lorenzo River." 

Source: "Santa Cruz and Her Environs," Daily Alta California, July 5, 1880.

ODD FELLOWS AMONG THE BIG TREES

Santa Cruz Weekly Sentinel, April 26, 1879

The I.O.O.F. (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) was one of many fraternal organizations which held picnics at Big Trees Grove. 

The I.O.O.F. is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order that was originally founded in England by the 1700s. The I.O.O.F. became one of the largest fraternal organizations and by 1889 had lodges in every state.
    
Fraternalism became rooted in American history from its founding. But it was the late 19^th century which became known as the “Golden Age of Fraternalism.” In the wake of the Civil War, membership in these type of groups grew dramatically. Community displacement after the Civil War and the rapid pace of industrialization led many people to seek out more social outlets and sources of mutual aid. Though such organizations provided much needed support to communities, early on they were often restricted based upon race, ethnicity, and religion. It is estimated that between 1870 and 1910 as many as 20%-40% of American men were members of a fraternal organization.  

Sources: “The Golden Age of Fraternalism: 1870-1910,” by Harriett W. McBride at http://phoenixmasonry.org/Golden%20Age%20of%20Fraternalism.pdf; Independent Order of Odd Fellows – the Sovereign Grand Lodge, History at https://odd-fellows.org.

UP THE CANYON

Author's Personal Collection

"The trip up the canon is capital recreation. The route is extensively patronized by both drivers and equestrians, and many ladies daily ride up the mountain to Felton. The road, a very good one, sprinkled and kept in repair by a private company, charging a moderate toll, winds up the side of the gorge, under, along, and above the railroad track. There are numerous points on the road, from which the depth, magnificence and varied scenic effects of the canon may be fully appreciated, and to even better advantage than from a passing train. This road leads to Felton, seven miles from Santa Cruz, and a short cut down across the river bridges the visitor to the Big Tree Grove, a railway station five and a half miles from Santa Cruz."

                                    “Santa Cruz and Her Environs,”  

                                   Daily Alta California, July 5, 1880