McHenry Library and Library of Congress A Companion to Capitola by Frank Perry, 2018. websites) show building footprints, An alphabetical list of people, places, events, etc. construction materials, and other useful with sources. details. Santa Cruz County Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary by Donald Thomas Clark, 2008. Photographs. The Capitola Historical Covers the entire county, including Capitola. For Museum has many historic photos, mostly the origin of the town’s name, however, see one of of the village area. The McHenry Library at the more recent books. UCSC has the best collection of aerial photos. Covello & Covello Photography in Venetian Court, Est. 1874, Capitola’s Unique and Charming Seaside Resort by Melanie Shaffer Digging into Santa Cruz sells low altitude aerial Freitas, 2013. Short history of this local landmark. photographs of Capitola, mostly from the middle 1900s. By The Sea: A History of The Capitola Begonia Capitola Festival by Carolyn Swift, 1992. A detailed history Deeds. The County Records Office has these. of the famous festival up to 1992. History You can research the chain of title yourself or The Grand Hotel Capitola by Gordon van Zuiden you can hire a title company to do it for you. A Short Guide and Carolyn Swift, 2007. Lavishly illustrated with Prepared by the old photos. Capitola Historical Museum, 2020 Seventy Five Years: The Little Church on Depot Hill (1899-1974) by Alvin D. Wilder, Jr., 1974. Capitola is a small town with a big history. History of Capitola’s St. John the Baptist Episcopal Founded in 1874, it is the oldest seaside resort Church. on the California Coast. It became an incorp- Santa Cruz County History Journal. Published by orated city in 1949 and today has a population the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History since of about 10,000. Besides tourism, other 1994. Some issues have included articles on mid- industries have included fishing, flowers, county topics, including Capitola. poultry, sugar, and fruit. In the early days, redwood lumber from the nearby hills was For a more complete list of books, see A shipped at Capitola. Capitola Beach, circa 1910 Companion to Capitola or the Historic Context Statement. At the Capitola Historical Museum, visitors Books frequently ask how to research people, places, For more information on some of these topics, The following are some general and special- or events from Capitola’s past. This short see Every Structure Tells A Story: How to ized books on Capitola History. guide summarizes some of Research the History of Property in Santa Cruz the principal resources useful Capitola by Carolyn Swift, 2013. Historic County. This book is available in libraries and in historical research. These photographs and detailed captions tell the story as a pdf on the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & are mostly general resources. of the town. History website. Although additional This list does not include Historic Context Statement for the City of resources have become available since it was resources of a specialized Capitola by Carolyn Swift, 2004. Arranged by published in 1990, it is still the best resource nature, such as biographies subject, it also includes a chronology and a list of on this subject. city council members from 1949 to 2002. of individuals or resources on specific industries. Institutions history. Ancestry.com is available for free from are the Santa Cruz Sentinel (1856-present), Santa within the library. With a library card, one can Cruz Surf (1883-1919), Santa Cruz Evening News The following have collections useful in access old newspapers and census records from (1907-1941), Central County News (1962-1970), Capitola research. Some of the collections are home via the library website. and Green Sheet and Cabrillo Times (1970-1986). only accessible by appointment. Some of these were indexed by volunteers and McHenry Library, University of California, that index is on the Santa Cruz Public Library Capitola Historical Museum, 410 Capitola Santa Cruz. The library, and especially its website. The Sentinel and Evening News have Avenue, Capitola. The museum’s collection Special Collections and Archives, has vast been digitized and are accessible and fully includes historical artifacts, photographs, collections pertaining to Santa Cruz County searchable online. They can be accessed for a scrapbooks, clippings, books, postcards, maps, history, including Capitola. These include fee through newspapers.com or at no charge via and various other memorabilia including the newspapers on microfilm, maps, photographs, the Santa Cruz Public Library website (must Capitola Begonia Festival archives. Items not postcards, books, and various other collections. have library card). on display are available by appointment. The Hihn-Younger Archive has the papers of F. Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, 705 A. Hihn, Capitola’s pioneer developer. The Census Records. Census records for Santa Cruz Front Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. The Leon Rowland card file is another important County are available from 1850 to 1940 (records museum’s collections are extensive and resource. Check website for hours and parking are kept sealed for 72 years). They vary as to include photographs, newspaper clippings, information: library.ucsc.edu. the information included, but typically include age, occupation, education, location of maps, old telephone books, old business The Capitola Branch Library, 2005 Wharf residence, members of household, etc. Available directories, school yearbooks, books, Road, Capitola, has books on local history and free online to Santa Cruz Public Library card postcards, scrapbooks, maps, incorporation is part of the Santa Cruz Public Library System. holders via the library website and the link to papers, etc. The website (archives.santacruzmah. Materials from other branches are available Heritage Quest. org) has finding aids for many of the collec- through interlibrary loan. (This branch tions, which are available by appointment. scheduled to re-open in 2020.) Directories. These were published annually The group called Researchers Anonymous through much of the 20th century and list both meets monthly and is open to anyone doing people and businesses. These and telephone research on local history. There are lectures, books are very useful in tracking the locations field trips, and round table discussions (an and movements of people and businesses. opportunity to ask questions of other Some are online; libraries have microfilm and researchers and share discoveries). Website: hard copies. researchersanonymous.weebly.com Telephone Books. Both the Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Public Library, 224 Church Street, Museum of Art & History and the Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA 95060. The library’s collections Public Library have fairly complete collections on local history are among the most complete Capitola Hotel and streetrcar, circa 1910 of phone books from the early 1900s to the in the county and continue to expand. They Resources present. include books, old newspapers, telephone books, business directories, clipping files, Newspapers. Old newspapers contain a wealth Maps. There are many kinds of maps, and they maps, photographs, and postcards. The latter of historical information and many are can be valuable sources of information. Some three collections are on the library website available on microfilm at the Cabrillo College show roads, parcel boundaries, and even (santacruzpl.org). The website also includes Library, the Santa Cruz Public Library, and the property ownership. Sanborn Fire Insurance newspaper indexes and articles about local McHenry Library at UCSC. Especially valuable maps for Capitola Village (available on the