Davenport

History

A whaling captain named John Pope Davenport settled at , about half a mile from today's town, in 1867. Davenport built a 400-foot wharf at the mouth of Agua Puerca Creek ("agua puerca" translates to "muddy water"). This wharf was built to load the lumber brought down from the hills for shipment to Santa Cruz. A small village grew up around the port and was known as Davenport Landing. The local post office began operations in 1874, but was known only as Davenport. Agua Puerca Creek lived up to its name by bringing down so much mud that the port filled up and steamers could not tie up to the wharf to load lumber. A small extension did not solve the problem. Then a competitor built a longer wharf, but it was destroyed in a storm. Captain Davenport went bankrupt and moved to Santa Cruz. The post office in Davenport Landing closed in 1889. When Captain Davenport went bankrupt, his assets were auctioned off to pay creditors. Among the items auctioned off were whaling items leading to speculation that he carried out whaling activities from the port, especially after he started losing money. However, no eyewitness reports of whaling activities at Davenport Landing have been found. In 1905, an east coast businessman named William Dingee bought the Santa Cruz Lime Company, which had a lime quarry on the banks of San Vicente Creek, south of Davenport Landing. In the following year, the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Company manufacturing plant was built nearby. At that time, the closed Davenport Landing post office opened up in the settlement that grew up around the cement plant. It again only used the name of Davenport; hence, the name of the town. Another important piece of history of the town of Davenport lies behind the walls of the current Costa Azul Mexican restaurant. For…

Geography

Davenport lies at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 2.8 square miles (7.4 km2). Davenport has topographic variance, with beaches at sea level and foothills reaching up to 1000 feet in elevation at its border. The headwaters of the San Vicente Creek start from these foothills, flowing down to the ocean. The town is located approximately 8.8 miles (14.23 km) south of the San Mateo County border, specifically from the Ano Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area. To the direct north is the unincorporated community of Swanton; the California Polytechnic University of San Luis Obispo manages a ranch in this community, known as the Swanton Pacific Ranch. Immediately east of the town are the Santa Cruz Mountains and the neighboring community of Bonny Doon. Big Basin State Park, an area heavily affected by fires, is located approximately 7 miles (11.5 km) northeast of the town. Davenport is situated amongst fault lines; the San Gregorio Fault lies westward, submerged in the Pacific Ocean, while the San Andreas Fault stretches east of the town. The town is part of the greater Monterey Bay-Tularcitos fault zone, a complex system of strike-slip faults.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  37,646
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  34,410
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  32,247
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  31,314
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  31,092
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  27,381
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  25,776
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  25,665