Ben Lomond homes and history
The terrain and topography of Ben Lomond is vastly different from the rest of the San Lorenzo Valley, with a lot of sandy soil and open vistas. The sandy soil is conducive to many tall Ponderosa Pines and expanses of rare and endangered plants and interesting micro climates. There are many endangered species of plants that originate in Ben Lomond . Three of these include the Ben Lomond Spineflower, the Ben Lomond Wallflower, and the Ben Lomond Buckwheat. The Ben Lomond Spineflower is another endangered species of plant. Although it is locally quite abundant, due to its rarity, and the small geographic area that it can thrive in, the Spineflower will be lost if there is not more conservation of land. The Spineflower has beautiful pink flowers and surrounding spiny bracts. It is an annual winter-spring flower.
The Ben Lomond Wallflower is an endangered flower that only flowers once but needs one or more years to fulfill its life cycle. You can find the wallflower only in the Zaytante Sandhills. These Sandhills have a unique community of animals and plants, of which the wallflower is one. The Ben Lomond Buckwheat is an herb that flowers perennially between June and September. The nature of the white flower is such that the hairs on the leaves reflect sunlight and therefore reduce water loss, allowing it to be a viable member of the hot, dry Sandhills. It is also an endangered species of plant.
Originally a logging community, Ben Lomond was known as Pacific Mills. John Burns, a native of Scotland and one of the town's forefathers greatly missed his homeland, and decided to name the surrounding mountains Ben Lomond and the name stuck for the town. Henry Cowell was an enterprising young man from Massachusetts , who, like many, struck out to California during the gold rush days. He decided to support the gold rush rather than prospect for gold. He became rich, and started a transportation business. He found great success and started acquiring land in many parts of the state. In those areas, brick was becoming the building material of choice. With brick, came a need for cement. One of the major components of masonry is limestone in the cement. Mr. Cowell soon amassed an immense amount of land in Santa Cruz County.
Ben Lomond Mountain was a major location for limestone production. Fall Creek Park was the site of the limestone that was mined by Mr. Cowell. Fall Creek Park is located in the northern area past Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. It is about 2,400 acres and is hard to access. However, for the adventurous, it does contain over 20 miles of hiking trails. There is no visitor center located within Fall Creek Park. Mr. Cowell built this up, and many of the area's parks and businesses benefited from his largesse.
In the early 1900's, Ben Lomond gained fame as a popular resort. The area was considered the "gem of the Santa Cruz Mountains". With a pre-drought annual rainfall of 52 inches, the area stays green year round. January is the coldest month with a normal maximum temperature of 56 degrees and a low of 35 degrees. August is the warmest month with a normal high of 82 degrees, and a low of 48 degrees. Due to that glorious summer weather, wealthy families from all over came by train and by carriage to stay. The nearby Brookdale Lodge hosted royalty, movie stars, and Presidents. As a promotion, subscribers were entered into a lottery for small lots with a newspaper subscription to the San Francisco Chronicle. A few of these were winners, but the small lots were prevalent as few wanted a big piece of land you had to maintain while you were there on vacation. Many landowners later built small summer cabins on their property.
Today, Ben Lomond is home to Highlands Park which hosts the annual Highland Games Festival. It is also home to playgrounds, volleyball and tennis courts, and picnic tables. A 26-acre park, it also features playing fields, and a lovely house. The house can accommodate up to 200 people for weddings, private parties, or meetings. Also onsite at Highlands Park is the Children's Center of San Lorenzo Valley and a senior center. Information on these sites at: (831) 336-2857.
Ben Lomond is also home to Park Hall where the Mountain Community Theater puts on plays several times a year. Opened since 1982, the talented group stages anything from musicals to comedies and even have a summer youth program that enables children to see behind the scenes as well as act. There is also the Santa Cruz Mountains Art Center that is dedicated to infusing art into the community through classes, special events, exhibitions, and member participation.
There are many different places to worship within Ben Lomond. The Ben Lomond Business Association has a detailed list here. Ben Lomond is part of the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District. Also within the San Lorenzo Valley School District is the Ben Lomond Charter School. The charter school is unique in that it allows more creative freedom for teachers. Also, parents are more actively involved, and all three (students, teachers, and parents) are held accountable for the improvement of student achievement. Within the Ben Lomond Charter School , there are 8 programs. Community-based and site-based home schooling; two alternative high schools; and a science-based, hands-on program. The grade levels vary from Kindergarten all the way though 12th grade. The Glen Arbor School, which is a private school serving children ages 2 to 6 years old has been around for over 30 years within Ben Lomond.
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