Scotts Valley is a small city located in eastern Santa Cruz County, California, United States, about ten miles (16 km) south of San Jose and six miles (10 km) north of the beach in the upland slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 11,385. Principal access to the city is supplied by State Route 17 that connects San Jose and Santa Cruz.

The City of Scotts Valley was incorporated in 1966.

History

Ohlone tribes occupied areas along watercourses in Scotts Valley such as creeks, spring and seep areas, areas along permanent and seasonal drainages, and flat ridges and terraces. These early settlements probably occurred as early as 2000 BC. Therefore, areas along watercourses are considered likely locations for prehistoric cultural resources. Several watercourses, including portions of Carbonera Creek, Bean Creek, MacKenzie Creek and the San Lorenzo River, are within the city. Permanent villages were usually placed on elevations above seasonal flood levels. Surrounding areas were thence used for hunting and seed, acorn, and grass gathering.

Scotts Valley was named after Hiram Scott, who purchased Rancho San Augustin, including the valley, in 1850 from Joseph Ladd Majors. Before Majors, the property was owned by José Bolcoff. Bolcoff was the original settler and first European to claim title and live in what was to be Scotts Valley. He was born Osip Volkov around 1794 in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Siberia. Working as a fur trader around 1815, Bolcoff jumped ship on the Monterey Bay shoreline, quickly assimilated into the Spanish culture, and was well received by the Spanish authorities. Volkov had his Russian Orthodox Baptism validated in Mission Soledad in 1817, and was given the Spanish name José Antonio Bolcoff. Bolcoff lived with and traveled with Alta California's governor Pablo Vicente de Solá, acting as an interpreter.

Becoming a Mexican citizen in 1833, Bolcoff moved his family to his 4400 acre land grant building, an adobe casa historians speculate was located near present-day Kings Village Shopping Center. Bolcoff relinquished his interest in the Rancho San Augustin, selling and accepting $400 from Joseph Ladd Majors, also known as Don Juan José Mechacas. July 7, 1846 marked the shift of power in the region from Mexico to the United States.

Hiram Scott built the Greek revival style Scott House in 1853. Situated behind City Hall, it is a Santa Cruz County Historical Trust Landmark, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house originally stood on Scotts Valley Drive, near where a Bank of America branch is now located.

Scotts Valley's most famous resident was film director Alfred Hitchcock, who lived in a mountaintop estate above the Vine Hill area from 1940 to 1972. Florence Owens Thompson, made famous by Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother photograph, died in Scotts Valley in 1983.

Economy

Tourism

From its early years as a stop on the stage route across the mountains, the Scotts Valley area has provided services to travelers. With the growing popularity of the automobile in the early 20th century, the area became commercialized and tourism developed as a local industry.

In the early 1920s, Edward Evers established Camp Evers at the junction of the State Highway and Mt. Hermon Road. Camp Evers consisted of a small store, gas pumps, dance hall and tents, becoming a resort and rest stop for travelers.

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The Beverly Gardens were established in the 1930s and featured a collection of exotic birds and animals, a restaurant, and cabins.

The Tree Circus was opened in 1947, featuring trees grafted and trained in strange and unusual shapes. Bright "life size" painted dinosaurs overlooking Highway 17 were added to the Tree Circus in 1964 when it changed its name to The Lost World.

Santa's Village was established in 1956. It was the most popular of the many attractions, attracting millions of visitors to Scotts Valley for over twenty years, and it was the last of Scotts Valley's theme parks to close its doors, in 1979.

Scotts Valley is also near Big Basin Redwoods State Park, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, and Roaring Camp Railroads. The town is surrounded by redwood forests. The city of Santa Cruz lies to the south. A relatively large municipal skateboard park, where one adult has died due to improper helmet use, is near Skypark, the site of a former airport, in central Scotts Valley.

Two hotels operate in Scotts Valley: a Best Western hotel is located near the Granite Creek entrance to Highway 17, and a Hilton hotel is located near the Mount Hermon junction with Highway 17.

Redevelopment and high technology

Evidence regarding blighted conditions in the Redevelopment Area of Santa's Village and the Skypark Airport were established in the year 1990.

Many high technology businesses are located in Scotts Valley, including the headquarters of Seagate Technology (the world's largest producer of computer hard drives), E-mu Systems and Sessions, a company that makes clothing for snow, skate and surf-boarding. Borland Software Corp. was formerly headquartered in Scotts Valley.

Demographics