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PDF Text
Text
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Local News Index
Description
An account of the resource
An index to newspaper and periodical articles from a variety of Santa Cruz publications.
It is a collection of over 87,000 articles, primarily from the <em>Santa Cruz Sentinel</em>, that have been clipped and filed in subject folders. While these articles of local interest range in date from the early 1900's to the present, most of the collection and clipped articles are after roughly 1960. There is an ongoing project to scan the complete articles and include them in this collection.<br /><br />Also included are more than 350 full-text local newspaper articles on films and movie-making and on the Japanese-American internment.<br /><br /> In addition, this is an online index for births, deaths, and personal names from <em>The Mountain Echo.</em> The complete print index is available at the library. For more information see <a href="https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/items/show/134957#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0">The Mountain Echo</a>.
Most of the indexed articles are available on microfilm in the Californiana Room or in the clipping files in the Local History Room at the Downtown branch. Copies of individual articles may be available by contacting the Reference Department - <a href="https://www.santacruzpl.org/contact/">Ask Us.<br /><br /></a>
<p></p>
While there is some overlap between this index and <a href="https://www.santacruzpl.org/historic_newspaper_index/">the Historic Newspaper Index</a><a> (approximately 1856-1960), they are different databases and are searched separately.</a>
Publisher
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Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
PAPER
Dublin Core
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Identifier
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CF-2016-12-10-853
Title
A name given to the resource
Historical display outlines Ford's history
Subject
The topic of the resource
Department Stores
Ford's Department Store
Description
An account of the resource
Ford's Department Store
Creator
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Guild, Todd
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<i>Register Pajaronian</i>
Publisher
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Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Date
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2016-12-10
Coverage
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Watsonville
2010s
Format
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TEXT
Language
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EN
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
NEWS
Clipping branch location:Downtown
Clipping file under: Department Stores
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PDF Text
Text
Landmark that Grew Up:
Hard Childhood Served Charles Ford Well
By Ross Eric Gibson
Many a heart was broken on Valentine's Day when the flagship Charles Ford & Co. store in Watsonville closed its doors
for the last time.
Ford's was the oldest mercantile business and department store chain in California, its 12-store empire of Ford's and
Riley's affiliates stretching from Half Moon Bay to San Luis Obispo. Yet at the reopening of its Watsonville store after the
Loma Prieta earthquake, new, upscale pricing prompted the comment, "Ford's has forgotten this is still a community of
farms and farmworkers."
The unlikely founder was Charles Ford, a sickly farm boy born in 1824 in New Brunswick, N.J.
Like his parents, he suffered from lifelong ill health. His mother died when he was a child. And when Charles was 14, his
father's death forced him to go to work in a Newark dry-goods store.
Ford's health problems gave him an interest in medicine. He soon was working for a pharmacist, who made it possible
for him to open his own drugstore in New York when he was 18. The teen-ager was dubbed "doctor" and within five
years owned two drugstores.
Despite having had no childhood, Ford maintained a playful and humorous disposition and spirit.
The gold rush brought him to California in 1849, but in the midst of profitable mining, he was stricken and had to return
home to recuperate.
In 1850, he opened a store in San Francisco, and he came to Watsonville in the spud rush of 1852.
The Pajaro Valley was called "Spud Valley" because of all the potato farms established that year. Ford planted potatoes
on 200 acres leased from the Amasti Ranch. He also joined a Mr. Barney in building a small Main Street store to serve
the spud farmers.
In 1853, disaster struck. Overproduction made potatoes worthless, and, like other farmers, Ford left his crop rotting in
the fields.
With farms failing, the future of his farm supply store looked bleak. Many customers could only barter, yet this boosted
inventory and sales.
Now Ford's difficult childhood was proving to be the best school of all. He understood the needs and budgets of farmers
and farmworkers, providing both supplies and a grocery outlet for farmers' crops, dairy and meats.
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�He knew the dry-goods business, stocking clothing, housewares and furniture. A pharmacy gave him his customers'
patronage in sickness and in health.
Sickness ended Ford's only term in the Legislature in 1861. In 1866, he gave half of his business to his bookkeeper, Lucius
Sanborn, for a year's worth of service and renamed the business Ford & Sanborn.
Ford & Sanborn established the Watsonville Mill near Corralitos. He had his lumberyard at his Main Street store, and
there was another yard in Pajaro.
Ford's lumber built the 1871 Mansion House hotel across the street from his store. Ford was the first name on its
register, and he lived there many years. That same year, he supplied the ties to bring the railroad from Gilroy to Pajaro,
which made lumber-shipping more economical.
In 1873, this lucrative enterprise financed a charming two-story brick building to replace his original store, plus the
addition of chain stores in Salinas and King City.
When Sanborn retired in 1879, the business became Chas. Ford & Co. It was said Ford eventually owned one-quarter of
the town of Watsonville.
Ford traveled extensively in search of relief for his constant illnesses. He helped develop a health resort at Paraiso
Springs near Soledad, where missionaries once had received the sick. And in 1881, Ford founded the resort of Camp
Goodall (now the Pajaro Dunes site). The hotel and cottages, plus amusements such as a dancing pavilion, restaurant,
race track and ballpark, rivaled Santa Cruz as a bathing resort for a time.
In 1883, Ford's main store was expanded to the corner of Main and West Beach streets, and an elegant Eastlake
Italianate structure with corner turret was designed by Alex Chalmers. Ford adjoined it with three brick warehouses on
Main Street and, in 1884, a two-story expansion to the south.
In 1887, Ford was instrumental in bringing Claus Spreckels' sugar factory to Watsonville, with sugar beets a boon to local
farmers. Ford headed the fund-raising committee for the factory site and was the largest donor.
Although a lifelong bachelor, Ford was rumored to have had a mistress on Rodriguez Street who supposedly is buried in
the Ford plot.
Ford died in 1890, and a portion of his estate went toward the improvement of Watsonville Plaza, over which his store
presided.
As his mourners were leaving Pioneer Cemetery, they were shocked as the band struck up a rousing rendition of "Ta-RaRa-BOOM-De-Ay"! It was Ford's own request, to end his career on a high note, and those who knew him chuckled at
Ford's last laugh.
Sources
This article originally appeared in the San Jose Mercury News, February 23, 1993, p. 1B. Copyright 1993.
Reprinted with the permission of Ross Eric Gibson.
The content of this article is the responsibility of the individual author. It is the Library's intent to provide accurate local history
information. However, it is not possible for the Library to completely verify the accuracy of individual articles obtained from a
variety of sources. If you believe that factual statements in a local history article are incorrect and can provide documentation,
please contact the Webmaster.
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Santa Cruz History Articles
Description
An account of the resource
Original articles by library staff and by local authors and material from historical books.
Articles on Santa Cruz County history, many with illustrations, are available here.
The Santa Cruz Public Libraries is grateful to our local historians and their publishers for giving permission to include their articles. The content of the articles is the responsibility of the individual authors.
It is the library's intent to provide accurate information. However, it is not possible to completely verify the accuracy of individual articles obtained from a variety of sources. If you believe that factual statements in an article are incorrect and can provide documentation, please contact the library.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
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Identifier
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AR-147
Title
A name given to the resource
Landmark That Grew Up: Hard Childhood Served Charles Ford Well
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Gibson, Ross Eric
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<i>San Jose Mercury News</i>, February 23, 1993, p. 1B.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2/23/1993
Format
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Text
Language
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En
Type
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ARTICLE
Rights
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Copyright 1993. Reprinted with the permission of Ross Eric Gibson.
Subject
The topic of the resource
Ford, Charles
Department Stores
Ford's Department Store
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Watsonville
Biography
Business
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
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Photograph Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Photographs from the 1860's to the 2000's, documenting the history of Santa Cruz County.
See the <a href="https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/restrictions-on-use">About</a><a> sectionfor the library's reproduction policy and restrictions on use.</a>
Various sources were used to identify persons, events, and places. Citations to print sources were abbreviated. See the <a href="https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/sources-used-to-identify-photographs">About</a><a> section for a list of sources used.</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Color
Physical Dimensions
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6" x 4"
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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LH-rs009
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1989-10-18
Title
A name given to the resource
Front of Ford's Department Store
Description
An account of the resource
The front of Ford's Department Store on the corner of Pacific Avenue and Cathcart Street. A woman inside the store died from falling debris during the earthquake. Ford's was later razed.
<a href="http://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/sources-used-to-identify-photographs/">Source of information:</a> Ray Sherrod
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Santa Cruz (City)
1980s
Relation
A related resource
<a href="/omeka/items/show/134466">Loma Prieta Earthquake, October 17, 1989: Facts and Statistics</a>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This photograph is courtesy of Ray Sherrod.
<a href="http://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/restrictions-on-use/">Restrictions on Use</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Earthquake-1989
Ford's Department Store
Department Stores
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Image
Language
A language of the resource
En
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
PHOTO
Buildings
Disasters and Accidents
-
https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/files/original/394130038444c67188e617c0eebf23c7.jpg
ae9444cd5b4ab95bd8a1f7776aeea48d
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Photograph Collection
Description
An account of the resource
Photographs from the 1860's to the 2000's, documenting the history of Santa Cruz County.
See the <a href="https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/restrictions-on-use">About</a><a> sectionfor the library's reproduction policy and restrictions on use.</a>
Various sources were used to identify persons, events, and places. Citations to print sources were abbreviated. See the <a href="https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/sources-used-to-identify-photographs">About</a><a> section for a list of sources used.</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Color
Physical Dimensions
The actual physical size of the original image.
4 " x 6"
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
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LH-Pw-026
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1989
Title
A name given to the resource
Remains of Ford's Department Store
Description
An account of the resource
Remains of Ford's Department Store, which was located at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Cathcart Street.
<a href="http://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/sources-used-to-identify-photographs/">Source of information:</a> Staff
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Santa Cruz (City)
1980s
Relation
A related resource
<a href="/omeka/items/show/134466">Loma Prieta Earthquake, October 17, 1989: Facts and Statistics</a>
<a href="/omeka/items/show/134488">Loma Prieta Earthquake,1989: Buildings Demolished in Downtown Santa Cruz</a>
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
This photograph is courtesy of the City of Santa Cruz Public Works Department.
<a href="http://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/restrictions-on-use/">Restrictions on Use</a>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Department Stores
Ford's Department Store
Earthquake-1989
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Image
Language
A language of the resource
En
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
PHOTO
Disasters and Accidents