Tassajara Hot Springs, California
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Tassajara Hot Springs is a collection of natural hot springs within the
Ventana Wilderness The Ventana Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Santa Lucia Range along the Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969 when the Ventana Wilderness Act redesig ...
area of the
Santa Lucia Range The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from t ...
and
Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...
in
Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...
. The hot springs were used by the indigenous Native Americans for generations before they were discovered by Europeans in about 1843. The springs have been the site of various resorts since 1868. A horse trail was in use until in 1886, when a
stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
road was constructed over
Chews Ridge Taffy is a type of candy invented in the United States, made by stretching or/and pulling a sticky mass of a soft candy base, made of boiled sugar, butter, vegetable oil, flavorings, and colorings, until it becomes aerated (tiny air bubbles ...
to the springs. Monterey County designated the road to the resort as a public
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
in June, 1870. Charles Quilty bought the resort in 1886. He had a sandstone hotel built. He and members of his family owned the springs until 1945. The new owners refurbished the hotel but it burned in a fire in 1949. The resort changed hands several times over the next three decades. One owner planned to add a helicopter service, but he was killed in an airplane crash. Since 1967, the hot springs have been the site of a Zen Buddhist monastery which is open to visitors during the summer months only.


Etymology

''Tasajera'' is a Spanish-American word derived from an indigenous Esselen language, which designates a "place where meat is hung to dry." It has also been known as Tassajara Springs, Tesahara Springs and on mining claims as Agua Caliente Hot Water"


Location

The hot springs are located from Carmel Valley Road. The springs are privately owned by the
San Francisco Zen Center San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. Th ...
which operates the
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center The Tassajara Zen Mountain Center is the oldest Buddhism in Japan, Japanese Buddhist Sōtō Zen monastery in the United States. It is on the border of the Ventana Wilderness and within the Los Padres National Forest, southeast of Carmel-by-the-S ...
on site. The last of the road into the springs is extremely narrow and steep, and visitors are encouraged to use four-wheel drive vehicles or take a shuttle from
Jamesburg, California Jamesburg (formerly, Jamesburgh) is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located northeast of Ventana Cone, at an elevation of 1722 feet (525 m). John James founded the town in 1867. The Jamesburgh post office open ...
, where the Zen Center maintains offices. Jamesburg is at the foot of
Chews Ridge Taffy is a type of candy invented in the United States, made by stretching or/and pulling a sticky mass of a soft candy base, made of boiled sugar, butter, vegetable oil, flavorings, and colorings, until it becomes aerated (tiny air bubbles ...
, from the hot springs.


Geology

In 1918, the state mineralogist from the California State Mining Bureau produced a report detailing the large amount of hot water that issues at Tassajara Hot Springs through about seventeen thermal springs in the bed of the creek and along its southern bank. These range in temperature from about to and vary from mere seepages to flows of a minute. Thermal waters issue from a
gneiss Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
exposed along the creek for a distance of or more. Above and below this exposure the rock is granitic and in some places contains small garnets. The crystalline rocks are overlain by a series of shales, sandstones, and limestones, whose structure in the area north of Arroyo Seco is shown by the beds of massive buff-colored sandstone that dip northeastward at an angle of about 45°. A western limb of this structure has not been recorded but may exist in the mountains further towards the coast. The observed dips at least suggest that Tassajara Hot Springs issue at a locality where Arroyo Seco crosses a zone of intense pressure in the underlying crystalline rocks. Analyses of two of the thermal waters showed them to be noticeably sulphuretted, and only moderately mineralized. The water of the arsenic spring has a distinctly yellow color, which in a few other springs has been ascribed to alkaline sulphides in solution. At the north edge of the creek, a few yards above the hot springs, there are two cool springs in which iron is deposited. An analysis of the easternmost of these springs was also made. The two hot springs apparently issue from the same general source and show only slight differences in composition. Primary salinity and primary alkalinity are the chief stable properties, but the waters are characterized by high subalkalinity, of which silica is the main component. The carbonate radicle reported is presumably calculated from the alkalinity determination and doubtless includes sulphides and possibly silicates. The apparent absence of arsenic in the so-called arsenic spring is noteworthy. Of markedly different character from the hot springs, the cool iron spring is less than half as concentrated and has secondary alkalinity as its dominant property. Subalkalinity is not reported, but is probably relatively low. The spring is probably of essentially surface origin, and not directly related to the thermal waters. Algous growths in the creek below the hot springs are recorded, as the growths are related to the sulphuretted character of the water. Although they are common to thermal sulphur springs, the relatively large volume of water in the creek at Tassajara Hot Springs, its comparatively slow cooling, and the presence of both swift currents and of quiet pools, affords an unusually good opportunity to observe growth variations. Water from two of the largest springs is piped to two plunge baths, and a vapor bath constructed over the hottest spring in the creek bed.


History


Esselen

The springs were first used by native Esselen people who occupied the area for at least a thousand years before the Spanish colonial period. Native Americans from many different tribes knew of Tassajara and its healing properties. In 1843 Jack Swan met a group of Indians traveling up Carmel Valley on their way to the springs. He learned they were planning to build a
sweat lodge A sweat lodge is a low profile hut, typically dome-shaped or oblong, and made with natural materials. The structure is the ''lodge'', and the ceremony performed within the structure may be called by some cultures a purification ceremony or simply ...
to try to cure skin disease that had infected a number of them. Swan wrote, "Frequently there would be several tribes there at one time but because of the great abundance of wild game of all kinds and fish they had no trouble living." The native people were subjugated by Spanish missionaries beginning in 1770 through the
California Mission The Spanish missions in California ( es, Misiones españolas en California) comprise a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. Founded by Catholic priests o ...
system under Father
Junípero Serra Junípero Serra y Ferrer (; ; ca, Juníper Serra i Ferrer; November 24, 1713August 28, 1784) was a Spanish Roman Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size ...
. These claims are contested by the Diocese of Monterey. By the time of the American Civil War, the Europeans who came upon Tassajara found few traces of the Esselens' earlier presence. A few Esselen apparently continued to live in the region until at least the 1840s, escaping the harsh conditions of the mission and disease due to their remoteness.


Europeans

The springs were discovered by Europeans when a hunter found the springs in 1843. The springs were visited early on by Europeans when the only access was by means of a difficult trail. J. E. Rust built a cabin in about 1868 but didn't stay long. In 1994, a skeleton was unearthed near Tassajara, and research suggested the individual had died about 150 years ago. In 1863, there was a brief "
silver rush A silver rush is the silver-mining equivalent of a gold rush, where the discovery of silver-bearing ore sparks a mass migration of individuals seeking wealth in the new mining region. Notable silver rushes have taken place in Mexico, Chile, the U ...
" in the Tassajara region. Eighteen mining claims were filed by 135 men in the "Agua Caliente Mining District" ("supposed to contain
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
and
silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
"). The first mining claim for the area was recorded during the period of May 1–25, and it was named the "Vulcan Ledge", including "the stream of water called 'Agua Caliente'" (that is, the Tassajara Hot Springs). In March, 1885 Charles W. and Mary E. Quilty of San Jose bought the springs. Charles hired a surveyor and started work on the road from James Ranch to Chew’s Ridge. The work from the summit down was done by unemployed Chinese miners and railroad builders from San Francisco and San Jose who used pick, shovel, and blasting powder. There were numerous unemployed Chinese miners and railroad builders in San Francisco and San Jose who worked for $.50 a day and provided their own food. Visitors traveled by
stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...
over a rocky and steep road southward from Jamesburg. The last section was so steep that a long pine tree trunk was chained to the rear axles to slow the four horse
stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
on the steep downgrade. The road is steep and narrow, such that a modern
four-wheel drive Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
vehicle can take an hour to cover the rough, winding narrow, rocky road leading from
Jamesburg, California Jamesburg (formerly, Jamesburgh) is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located northeast of Ventana Cone, at an elevation of 1722 feet (525 m). John James founded the town in 1867. The Jamesburgh post office open ...
at over high Chews Ridge to the resort at . The
Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Montere ...
Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...
designated the
trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...
to "Tesahara Springs" as a "public
highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
" in June, 1870, but work on a one-lane
wagon A wagon or waggon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals or on occasion by humans, used for transporting goods, commodities, agricultural materials, supplies and sometimes people. Wagons are immediately distinguished from ...
road over Chews and Black Butte Ridges was not started until the spring of 1886.See also
Chews Ridge & Black Butte
photographs, John Fedak, February 2006


Ownership

Ownership of the land has passed through a number of individuals. The springs were first occupied by J. E Rust who built a cabin there. In 1876, Jack Borden began advertising the resort. In November 1876, he sold
squatter's rights Adverse possession, sometimes colloquially described as "squatter's rights", is a legal principle in the Anglo-American common law under which a person who does not have legal title to a piece of property—usually land ( real property)—may ...
to William Hart. He filed a land patent on May 20, 1862 for of land. He put up some tents and widened the trail in anticipation of the summer. In 1904 Quilty had a sandstone hotel built. He hired Henry Arnold of Jamesburg to blast the rock and cut the blocks. He had other improvements added yearly so that by 1909 there was ample accommodation for 75 people, although a larger number were put up in tents. A U.S. Post Office was established with Mary Quilty as Postmaster at the resort on July 10, 1912. By 1918, a stagecoach ran twice weekly from Salinas to the springs, bringing visitors from all over the country to the springs. By 1932 his widow Helen was running two
Pierce-Arrow The Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company was an American motor vehicle manufacturer based in Buffalo, New York, which was active from 1901 to 1938. Although best known for its expensive luxury cars, Pierce-Arrow also manufactured commercial trucks ...
stages daily from Salinas to the springs every day. One seated 9 and the other 11, and they also brought in groceries and supplies. Members of the family would subsequently own it for 60 years. In 1901, their daughter May married the resort manager William Jeffrey, whose family owned the Jeffries Hotel in Salinas. Mary Quilty died in 1896, and Charles in 1916. After his death, his second wife Helen continued to operate the springs. In 1931, she remarried James B. Holohan, a former U.S Marshal, warden of
San Quentin Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...
, and later a California State Senator. She sold the resort in 1927, repurchased it in 1933, and continued to operate it with her husband through 1945. In May 1945, Ralph "Cocky" Meyers and James Bundguard bought Tassajara. Myers had worked at the springs as a young man, and was then owner of a large growing, packing, and shipping company in Salinas. Myers wanted to turn Tassajara into an exclusive resort. He planned to build a helicopter landing pad across from the plunges and add a aerial tram that would ferry guests across the stream and to the door of the hotel. He planned a helicopter shuttle service from the Salinas to Tassajara and try to gained the interest of San Francisco businessman. Actor Phil Terry, who was married to
Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...
from 1942 to 1946, turned to real estate investment later in life. He remarried Rosalind Lee, who was a member of the Church family, who also owned Church Creek Ranch, another Monterey Forest inholding. The large stone hotel burned on September 9, 1949, and Frank and Angela Sappok bought it in October 1951. His family owned it for about 15 years until he died in an accident on the road into the resort. His wife sold it to Lester and Margaret (Allan) Hudson. Her father had previously owned
Point Lobos Point Lobos and the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is a state park in California. Adjoining Point Lobos is "one of the richest marine habitats in California." The ocean habitat is protected by two marine protected areas, the Point Lobos Sta ...
, and had preserved it from development. Margaret had similar ambitions for Tassajara. They sold it in 1960 to two couples, Fred and Nancy Roscoe and Robert and Anna Beck. After only a month, the Becks bought the Roscoe's shares. The Becks made many improvements and founded the non-profit Tassajara Wilderness Trust and began offering a series of workshops. They initially considered selling the Horse Pasture property, and possible buyers included publisher Lawrence Lane, who owned
Sunset (magazine) ''Sunset'' is a lifestyle magazine in the United States. ''Sunset'' focuses on homes, cooking, gardening, and travel, with a focus almost exclusively on the Western United States. The magazine is published six times per year by the Sunset Publish ...
, the Monterey County Roughriders, and a vice-president of Pacific Gas & Electric. The
San Francisco Zen Center San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. Th ...
also indicated interest, but did not have the financing, and had to resort to fundraising from individuals like
Chester Carlson Chester Floyd Carlson (February 8, 1906 – September 19, 1968) was an American physicist, inventor, and patent attorney born in Seattle, Washington. Carlson invented electrophotography, the process used by millions of photocopiers worldwide. Ca ...
, the founder of Xerox. In December 1966 the Becks sold it for about $150,000 to the San Francisco Zen Center, who renamed it the Zen Mountain Center. Their selling price was considerably less than they could have obtained from others.


The Horse Pasture

A section of of land near the springs was nicknamed ''The Horse Pasture'' because the flat
meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...
was once used by wranglers to pasture
livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
when passengers used a
stage coach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
to visit the springs. The land is a mixture of chamise-dominated chaparral, mixed oak, Coulter Pine forest, and meadow. It was an
inholding An inholding is privately owned land inside the boundary of a national park, national forest, state park, or similar publicly owned, protected area. In-holdings result from private ownership of lands predating the designation of the park or fores ...
within the borders of the
Ventana Wilderness The Ventana Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Santa Lucia Range along the Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969 when the Ventana Wilderness Act redesig ...
within the
Santa Lucia Mountains The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from t ...
in
Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...
and was owned by the Beck family until 2016. The land offered obvious recreational opportunities and the potential for
development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...
as a residence or retreat. The Wilderness Trust identified the parcel as a high priority for
conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...
and addition to the Ventana Wilderness. In partnership with the
Big Sur Land Trust The Big Sur Land Trust is a private 501(c)(3) non-profit located in Monterey, California, that has played an instrumental role in preserving land in California's Big Sur and Central Coast (California), Central Coast regions. The trust was the f ...
, they bought the land for $1.1 million. The Wilderness Trust later conveyed to the United States Forest Service for inclusion in the Ventana Wilderness.


Fires

In September, 1949, a fire started in a cottage and quickly spread to the main building and the nearby forest. The fire trapped 40 guests and 22 employees before it was stopped at . The hot springs were completely surrounded by the
Basin Complex fire The Basin Complex Fire was a massive wildfire near Big Sur that ignited on June 21, 2008, and was the result of a lightning strike. It eventually grew to , becoming the second-largest wildfire of the 2008 California wildfire season, and burning ...
in 2008. Five semi-trained staff members chose to remain behind, against the advice of professional fire-fighting personnel, and successfully defended the resort from the fire.


Zen Center

The springs and surrounding property are privately owned by the
San Francisco Zen Center San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. Th ...
, which purchased the land from Robert and Anna Beck. The site, now formally known as Zenshinji (Zen Heart-Mind Temple) is used year-round as a training monastery by Zen Center. From Memorial Day to Labor Day each year, SFZC rents the simple monastic accommodations as well as allowing day visitors to use the hot springs. Otherwise, it is used exclusively by the monks for intensive practice following a traditional schedule established in Tang Dynasty China.


Notes


References

{{Authority control Big Sur Populated coastal places in California Bodies of water of Monterey County, California Hot springs of California Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest