Field Trip: History Tour

Today we took a very interesting (and rather tiring) trip through "history". We hiked many places that involved the history of Los Gatos in some way or other, in our neck of the woods.

First Stop: Yamate's Residence

We first arrived at the Yamate's property, or Marty Ranch. Marty Ranch is an around 400 acres, and was famous for it's illegal selling of grapes. The grape stakes date back to 1912, when a family moved out of the farm.

Then a Japanese-American man moved into the empty ranch. Since the immigration block was installed, no immigrants were allowed to have land. But since he was also American, he could own land, but not work. So he sold wine illegally. The tools that were used were all portable to deal with the law, including grape presses and stakes.

The area has geological history as well. It used to be completely barren in older pictures, but evidence of all the different fir trees shows that the area was also a christmas tree farm. Multiple slides occured on the slope as well.

Second Stop: Skyland Church

Skyland church is noted to be the oldest building on the mountain. It is also the most fragile building, due to the fact it was knocked off it's foundation not only once, but twice due to the 1989 and 1906 earthquakes. Because of this, the architecture on the inside of the building is held up with metal and wood beams, laid on a small concrete foundation.

The bell also didn't fit in the building, so it was set to the side of the church. The church was sent over from the east coast by a patron of the church who decided that the church needed a bell.

Third Stop: Radonich Ranch

We stopped by here to get lunch, and learned very fast sprinklers were installed. Radonich Ranch contains a shed that holds writing thought to have been written in the early-1900's. The building is so old though, it has holes in the roof.

Fourth Stop: Burell School

We got out in the middle of the street to go to Burrel, the only remaining, refurbished school. This school only could take 30 people at one time, and the train ran right by the area. The Wright Station is just downhill from the school. Unfortunately, the camera died in the sun at this point.

Fifth Stop: Patchen Marker

Patchen used to be the very first town in the Los Gatos area, but now all you can see is a road and a tree farm. The only remanant of it remaining is the marker from 1950's, telling about the first settlers.