Purissima, California
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Purissima is a
ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
in southwestern
San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, United States, near the junction of State Route 1 and Verde Road. ''Purísima'' means "purest" in Spanish and is most commonly used in Spanish to refer to ''La Purísima Concepción'' (the
Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth w ...
) of the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
(note historical misspelling in English resulting in double "s", or the result of the Holstein pronunciation with use of the "ẝ" being mistaken as ß "ss", or perhaps spelling comes from the local Portuguese influence, where the spelling from ''A Puríssima Conceição'' would be correct). Purissima is the name of the town used as the setting for Ross Macdonald's 1958 crime fiction novel 'The Doomsters'.


History

Located on
José María Alviso José María de Jesus Alviso (November 19, 1798 – June 18, 1853) was a Californio ranchero, soldier, and politician. He served as Alcalde of San José (mayor) in 1836 and was the rancho grantee for Rancho Milpitas. Alviso is considered the fo ...
's
Rancho Cañada de Verde y Arroyo de la Purisima Rancho Cañada de Verde y Arroyo de la Purísima was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Mateo County, California given in 1838 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José María Alviso. The name roughly translates to ''ranch of the green glen and b ...
in a rural area four miles (6 km) south of
Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 as of the 2020 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the un ...
, the village was one of the earliest settlements on the San Mateo County coast. The first European mention of the area was noted by Juan Crespí on the
Portolá expedition thumbnail, 250px, Point of San Francisco Bay Discovery The Portolá expedition ( es, Expedición de Portolá) was a Spanish voyage of exploration in 1769–1770 that was the first recorded European land entry and exploration of the interior of t ...
of 1769. On October 27th they stopped at an abandoned Torose village at the northern side of the stream. The local guides told them they have moved into the mountains. Crespí christened the stream San Ivo (Saint Ives). This is now remembered as California Historical Landmark #22. The first American village, as well as the creek, was renamed Purisima in 1786. The town was founded in an agricultural area in the early 1850s. Henry Dobbel (born in the sovereign state of
Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...
, then in a personal union with
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...
, on July 1, 1829; died in Purissima on December 22, 1891) came to California via
Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramírez ...
in 1845. After working at odd jobs, and even running a San Francisco restaurant, Dobbel married German Margaret Roverkamf-Schroeder (born near
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
,
Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover (german: Königreich Hannover) was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Han ...
, in 1831; died in Purissima on September 3, 1885). She had come to California via the
Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also historically known as the Isthmus of Darien (), is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North and South America. It contains the country ...
. They bought a farm in the East Bay. In the 1860s, they sold their farm and bought from John Purcell. They built a big, ornate house on the south bank of Purisima Creek. The house had two stories and 17 rooms; it boasted such innovations as gas lighting and running water. Dobbel employed 50 men who planted and harvested wheat, barley, and potatoes. The community was badly flooded by Purisima Creek in January 1862, the same month that much of northern California experienced its worst floods in history. Some fields and buildings were swept away. By the early 1870s, Purissima had a post office, several stores, a school, a one-story hotel known as Purissima House (owned by Richard Dougherty), and other buildings. The general store was built by Henry Husing. A lumber mill was constructed at the mouth of Purissima Canyon, to take advantage of the extensive
redwood Sequoioideae, popularly known as redwoods, is a subfamily of coniferous trees within the family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affini ...
logging in the nearby
Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...
. Oil was discovered near the village in the 1880s on George Shout's land. However, hopes of an oil boom were dashed when only 20 barrels a day were produced. The
U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
has noted later efforts to drill for oil in the area, usually resulting in minor production. Henry Dobbel bought the general store, only to encounter financial difficulties when he extended credit to many of his customers. Then there were a series of crop failures, which eventually impacted Dobbel and the entire community. Henry Dobbel went bankrupt and sold his estate in 1890 to
Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher and teacher. Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 202 ...
. He remained in the area, however, and both he and his wife are buried in the village cemetery. The
Ocean Shore Railroad The Ocean Shore Railroad was a railroad built between San Francisco and Tunitas Glen, and Swanton and Santa Cruz that operated along the Pacific coastline from 1905 until 1921. The route was originally conceived to be a continuous line betwee ...
, which operated from
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
to
Tunitas Creek Tunitas Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 stream in San Mateo County, California. ''Tunitas'' is Spanish for "little prickly pears". An all-w ...
from 1907 to 1920, included a stop at Purissima, as noted on a
U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...
's Santa Cruz quadrangle map. The Purissima Post Office opened in 1868, only to be discontinued in 1869. Then, in 1872, it reopened and continued to serve the community until 1901. Some buildings still remained as late as the 1930s, but the town was largely abandoned before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The 1940 U.S. Geological Survey map shows a few buildings and notes the "Purisima School." The 1943 map still shows the school. At that time, State Route 1 still passed directly through Purissima. Today, Highway 1 runs farther west of the original route. Verde Road runs north from
Lobitos Lobitos District is one of six districts of the province Talara in Peru. Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática The Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI) ("National Institute of Statistics and Informatics") is a ...
to Purisima Creek Road; this is actually the original alignment of Highway 1. According to the older maps, the school was located on the north side of what is now Verde Road, just east of Highway 1. The cemetery is in the woods bordered by Verde Road and Highway 1. In 1939, the
Federal Writers Project The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) was a federal government project in the United States created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program. It wa ...
guidebook for California noted, "The village of Purisima, once a lively town on Jose Maria Alivso's Rancho Canada y Arroyo de la Purisima, is ghostly and deserted now. Its weathered gray buildings stand among mosshung cypresses and eucalyptus trees, their windows broken, their stairs falling in, their facades rudely stuck with gay circus posters." No clear reasons have been found for the demise of the community; presumably its remote location led some residents to move to Half Moon Bay or other communities. All that remains of Purissima today is the cemetery (still noted on U.S. Geological Survey maps) and a part of the school. Several farms surround the site. There are numerous evergreen trees and heavy vegetation at the site. Dayna Chalif, who has explored the Purissima Cemetery and researched historic archives, wrote, "Purissima was supposed to be the big town on the coast, ut itwas harder to get to." The failure of the Ocean Shore Railroad, which was intended to provide better access to the San Mateo County coast, may have hurt Purissima, although the village was later included on the original routing of Highway 1. Until the 1950s, however, much of the San Mateo County coastal area remained sparsely settled and the few surviving communities were relatively small. With the dramatic rise of housing costs along San Francisco Bay, there has been greater incentive to build along the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the steady growth of Montara,
Moss Beach Moss Beach is a coastal census-designated place in San Mateo County, California, with a year 2020 census population of 3,214. Located in Moss Beach are the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, a marine sanctuary; the Half Moon Bay Airport, the historic Mo ...
, El Granada,
Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 as of the 2020 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the un ...
, and Pescadero. This has done little for Purissima, which had long since vanished. Local newspaper articles have frequently mentioned that limited access to the area, primarily via Highways 1 and 92, has been a major factor in the slow growth. With the completion of the Devil's Slide tunnel on Highway 1 in 2012, access to the coastal communities south of San Francisco has improved. In 2017, some restoration was begun of the site, with emphasis on cleaning up the cemetery, including access trails. Very little remains of the village besides the cemetery.


Purisima Creek

There is also the same named Purisima Creek, which passes near the town site. Purisima Creek Road follows the creek for some distance, toward the
Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...
to the east. There are some seasonal, sometimes spectacular falls along the creek. The creek was subsequently named ''Arroyo de la Purissima'' by later Spanish explorers.


Cemetery

On September 15, 1868, John Purcell deeded some of his property to the citizens of Purissima for a burial ground. The Purissima Cemetery Association was created. Free burials were to be provided to Purissima residents. A
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
church was to be built next to the cemetery. Today, many of the gravestones in this cemetery are missing or broken. In the summer of 2005, Dayna Chalif transcribed the existing gravestones in the Purissima Cemetery, which was long largely overgrown with weeds, vines, and
poison oak Poison oak refers to two plant species in the genus ''Toxicodendron,'' both of which can cause skin irritation: *''Toxicodendron diversilobum'' or Western poison oak, found in western North America *''Toxicodendron pubescens ''Toxicodendron pub ...
, making it very difficult to access. In 2017, a local company cleared a path and advertises natural burial services on the site.


See also

List of ghost towns in California This is an incomplete list of ghost towns on California sortable by town or county. {{Lists of ghost towns by U.S. state Calif Ghost town Tourist attractions in California Ghost towns in California A ghost is the soul or s ...


References


External links


Purissima Cemetery
A "
natural burial Natural burial is the interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to be naturally recycled. It is an alternative to other contemporary Western burial methods and funerary ...
" Cemetery located south of
Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 as of the 2020 census. Immediately at the north of Half Moon Bay is Pillar Point Harbor and the un ...
operated by Steelmantown Cemetery. {{SF Bay Area Former settlements in San Mateo County, California Ghost towns in California Ghost towns in the San Francisco Bay Area