Felton

History

Felton is part of the traditional territory of the Sayant, an Awaswas-speaking group considered part of the Ohlone people. Most of the Sayant were sent to Mission Santa Cruz and the area of the San Lorenzo Valley remained unpopulated except for occasional travelers. In 1833, Rancho Zayante was established at the confluence of the San Lorenzo River and Zayante Creek and granted to Joaquín Buelna. The rancho subsequently passed to Francisco Moss in 1839, then Joseph L. Majors on April 22, 1841. Majors acquired it on behalf of Isaac Graham, who operated a lumber mill on the property. In the aftermath of California statehood in 1850, the California Gold Rush expanded outward, eventually reaching the San Lorenzo Valley. Gold was struck along western tributaries of the San Lorenzo River such as Gold Gulch. These miners, combined with lumbermen and their families, began a community known in early days as "San Lorenzo." After Graham died in 1863, his lawyer Edward Stanly oversaw the subdivision of his estate. In 1868, he hired Horace Gushee to subdivide the property and Frederick A. Hihn to promote it. Gushee was a director of the failed San Lorenzo Railroad scheme and planned to make the community into the terminus for the railroad. In 1868, he or Stanly named the town Felton, probably after former Oakland mayor John B. Felton, who may have been an investor. Although the railroad was never built, Felton continued to grow as a town focused on the lumber, lime, and mining industries. In 1875, it became the southern terminus of the San Lorenzo Valley Logging Flume from Boulder Creek, and the northern terminus of the Santa Cruz and Felton Railroad to Santa Cruz. and when formally opened in October 1875 was augmented by a new rail line to transport logs to the wharf in Santa…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  43,036
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  40,978
• Chestnut-backed Chickadee

  Poecile rufescens (J.K.Townsend, 1837) · Aves
  38,602
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  35,342
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  35,295
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  34,566
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  31,784
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  30,085

Largest nearby schools

• Ocean Grove Charter
  Other · Boulder Creek · 3,023 students · 23.3:1 ratio
• Santa Cruz High
  High · Santa Cruz · 1,092 students · 21.4:1 ratio
• Harbor High
  High · Santa Cruz · 1,023 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• Soquel High
  High · Soquel · 974 students · 21.2:1 ratio
• Scotts Valley High
  High · Scotts Valley · 690 students · 22.3:1 ratio
• New Brighton Middle
  Middle · Capitola · 648 students · 21.6:1 ratio
• San Lorenzo Valley High
  High · Felton · 643 students · 22.2:1 ratio
• San Lorenzo Valley Elementary
  Elementary · Felton · 598 students · 23:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.59 — 2026-09-17
  2 km ENE of Aromas, CA
• M 2.62 — 2026-09-17
  21 km E of Alum Rock, CA
• M 2.99 — 2026-09-14
  9 km SW of Brentwood, CA
• M 2.55 — 2026-09-13
  9 km SW of Brentwood, CA
• M 3.36 — 2026-09-12
  9 km SW of Brentwood, CA
• M 2.83 — 2026-08-13
  4 km N of San Leandro, CA