What’s in a Name

Jewel Box. The Jewel Box refers to a neighborhood located in Santa Cruz near the border of Capitola, where all the streets are named after precious jewels. The subdivision known as Opal 1 of the Fairview Tract was constructed in 1923 and includes the streets Crystal, Emerald, Garnet, Jewel, Opal, Topaz, Jade, Diamond, and Ruby.

The naming convention was likely inspired by a former nearby railroad station called Opal, which was along the Watsonville to Santa Cruz line of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The stop was located at today’s intersection of Madrone Avenue and 47th Street.

Loch Lomond. Loch Lomond is a manmade lake and reservoir located about two miles east of Brookdale. It was originally called Newell Reservoir or Newell Lake, named after Addison Newell, a farmer that lived on Newell Creek. The 175-acre artificial lake was constructed in 1960 by damming Newell Creek, a tributary of the San Lorenzo River. It was renamed as Loch Lomond in 1963 to match the nearby Scottish-named town of Ben Lomond. The reservoir serves as a backup water source for the city of Santa Cruz.

Loch Lomond is part of the larger Loch Lomond Recreational Area, which encompasses 2,800 acres of watershed amongst lush redwood forest land with 12 miles of hiking. The park also offers seasonal boating, fishing, picnicking, and birdwatching opportunities. You can learn more at the City of Santa Cruz website: www.santacruzca.gov/Government/City- Departments/Water-Department/Loch- Lomond.

Mak-Sah-Re-Jah. The term Mak-Sah-Re-Jah is an Indigenous name for the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is believed to be a Mutsun word for our mountains from the Mutsun-speaking Ohlone tribes. One Indigenous story describes the term’s meaning as a powerful eagle with its wings lifted, the head of the eagle being the tallest peak, Loma Prieta. The phrase can be further broken down as ‘mak’ meaning ‘people of’, ‘sarey’ meaning ‘eagle’, and ‘hya’ referring to ‘mountains’ which translates to ‘people of the eagle mountains.’

It is not known if other Native Americans, such as the Awaswas-speaking groups, used the same term or had another name for the mountains. However, we do know that Mak-Sah-Re-Jah is at least one Indigenous phrase naming the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Mount Bache Road. Mount Bache Road is named after Alexander D. Bache, a grandson of Ben Franklin. Bache led the 1854 Coast Survey which included detailed mapping of the entire Pacific Coast. Besides naming the road, the survey changed the mountain Loma Prieta to Mt. Bache. The road name has survived but the nearby mountain reverted back to its Spanish name, Loma Prieta, in 1916.

Mr. Bache’s family pronounced their name like ‘baych’ to rhyme with ‘H.’ Locals call the road Mount ‘baw-chee’ or Mount ‘baak.’

Rob Roy. La Selva Beach is a community located near Manresa State Beach just off of Highway 1. The neighborhood was originally named Rob Roy by David W. Batchelor, a realtor who purchased 270 acres from the College of Santa Clara in

1925 to build a seaside retreat. Batchelor was Scottish, and the name Rob Roy refers to a famous Highland Chief. At the time, he gave the roads in the development Scottish names. The town was renamed La Selva Beach in 1935 by developer Edward Burghard. In 2020, the population was 2,531.

Swanton. Located about five miles north of Davenport, just inland from Highway 1, Swanton is a small neighborhood in unincorporated Santa Cruz County. Swanton, previously known as Laurel Grove, was first a dairy ranch then a stop on the Santa Cruz-Pescadero Stage Coach route.

In the 1880s, Fred Swanton moved to the area and built the Swanton House hotel and nearby stables, ran the Santa Cruz Opera House, opened the Palace of Pharmacy, and started an electric-light business.

In 1896, Swanton organized a hydroelectric plant called the Big Creek Power Company, one of the first long-distance power plants. It provided elecctricity in Santa Cruz. Laurel Glen became Swanton in 1897.

In 1906, a train station for the Ocean Shore Railroad was established at Swanton. The Swanton Post Office was open from 1897 until 1930. Fred Swanton was the mayor of Santa Cruz from 1927 to 1933. Natural Bridges State Beach was once called Swanton Beach.