Name: Aptos
Item: Aptos
Author: Marilyn

Our seaside community

Aptos is an Ohlone Indian name for “the people”, it extends from Park Avenue to Larkin Valley, from the coast to the hills and is home to more than 25,000 people. Our areas are known as Aptos, Aptos Village, Aptos Hills, Day Valley, Rio del Mar, Seacliff and Seascape.

Why we ❤ it

History. The area was inhabited by the Ohlone Awaswas people for thousands of years. The first European exploration was the Spanish Portolá expedition who passed through the area in October 1769.

About 60 years later, the government of Mexico granted Rafael Castro the 6,656-acre Rancho Aptos. Initially Castro raised cattle for their hides, but after California became a state in 1850, Castro leased his land to Americans who built a wharf (the moorings can still be seen), general store, and lumber mill located where Aptos Village Square is now.

By 1872, Claus Spreckels, the sugar millionaire, began buying the land from Castro. He built a hotel, a summer mansion and ranch with a racetrack for his horses. A area was fenced and stocked with deer for hunting, and became known as “the Deer Park,” home of today’s Deer Park Center.

Bayview Hotel. In 1878 Augustia Castro, daughter of Rafael Castro, and her husband José Arano built the Victorian, Bayview Hotel in Aptos village. The hotel is a Santa Cruz County landmark, a State Historic Monument and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is home to the world’s second oldest known Magnolia tree

Forest of Nisene Marks. Aptos became a boomtown during the redwood timber harvest of 1880-1920 that clear-cut the forests around us. Today we are the proud gateway to the magnificent Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.

Rio Del Mar Country Club. In the 1920s, the Country Club included a clubhouse, a grand hotel (burned down in 1962), bungalows, a beach club, a polo field, and a golf course. The estuary was filled in, now Rio Beach Flats, and the SS Palo Alto cement ship was moored and converted into an amusement and dance pavilion with dancing to the likes of the Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey bands. Great while it lasted, but after just two seasons the owners went broke and a storm cracked the ship in half. The winter storms of 2016-7 caused extensive damage to the ship and pier.

Growth. In the early 1960s Aptos began a period of rapid development, including Cabrillo College, Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center, the Seascape Resort development, and many residential developments.

New Aptos Village center. The Hihn Apple Barn, built in 1890, is now a New Leaf grocery store in the new Aptos Village center.

World’s Shortest Parade. July 4th is a time for celebration with this unique and fun parade, pancake breakfast and party in the park.

More resources

Aptos Chamber of Commerce
Aptos History Museum
Aptos Village Park

Aptos

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