Felton, California

Felton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, California, United States. The population was 4,489 as of 2020 census and according to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , all of it land.

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 Cruz. To enable it to negotiate on better terms with the South Pacific Coast Railroad, Felton was incorporated as a town by the Legislature on March 8, 1878. This gamble did not pay off and the new railroad established a depot across the San Lorenzo River at a site nicknamed "New Felton" by locals. In 1917, Felton was disincorporated, relinquishing corporate responsibilities to the county of Santa Cruz.

In 1927, the Felton community of Lompico, California, was established.

In 1963, the steam-powered Roaring Camp Railroad began tourist operations on the Big Trees Ranch out of the Old Felton Depot. The company later constructed a replica logging camp and another depot farther down the property, and in 1985, took over operations on the old SPC/Southern Pacific standard gauge line to Santa Cruz. Roaring Camp is a re-creation of an 1880s logging camp and home to the original South Pacific Coast (later Southern Pacific) Felton depot and freight shed, as well as two unique railroads — the Roaring Camp and Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad, a steam-powered line up Bear Mountain, and the Santa Cruz, Big Trees and Pacific Railway.

Felton is home to the Felton Covered Bridge, an 80-foot-long covered bridge over the San Lorenzo River built in 1892 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

Scenes from the 1975 Disney movie "Escape to Witch Mountain" were filmed in Felton.

The Trout Farm Inn was located in Felton. It burned down on June 5, 2016. It reopened in 2022.

The local high school is San Lorenzo Valley High School. The 2007 boys basketball team won the only Boys Basketball SCCAL Championship in school history. Led by five players who all went to elementary school at the now closed Quail Hollow School. Scott Krueger, Josh Payne, Kyle Morris, Clint Gorman and Taylor West were known as the “Quail Hollow 5.” Their success was helped by the students who would regularly attend their games and called themselves, “The Red Sea.”

On August 20, 2020 at 8:00 AM Pacific Time, due to the CZU Lightning Incident fires of 2020, Felton was ordered to evacuate by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Felton had a population of 4,489. The population density was . The racial makeup of Felton was 80.1% White, 0.8% African American, 0.6% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.4% from other races, and 12.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.3% of the population.

The census reported that 95.6% of the population lived in households, 4.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 1,749 households, out of which 26.0% included children under the age of 18, 48.3% were married-couple households, 8.6% were cohabiting couple households, 24.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 18.8% had a male householder with no partner present. 26.9% of households were one person, and 11.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45. There were 1,110 families (63.5% of all households).

The age distribution was 17.0% under the age of 18, 6.9% aged 18 to 24, 25.8% aged 25 to 44, 30.6% aged 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 45.3years. For every 100 females, there were 99.2 males.

There were 1,885 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,749 (92.8%) were occupied. Of these, 70.8% were owner-occupied, and 29.2% were occupied by renters.

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $117,375, and the per capita income was $67,505. About 1.4% of families and 3.9% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Felton had a population of 4,057. The population density was . The racial makeup of Felton was 3,691 (91.0%) White, 25 (0.6%) African American, 29 (0.7%) Native American, 69 (1.7%) Asian, 11 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 60 (1.5%) from other races, and 172 (4.2%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 283 persons (7.0%).

The Census reported that 99.4% of the population lived in households and 0.6% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters.

There were 1,700 households, out of which 450 (26.5%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 795 (46.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 124 (7.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 69 (4.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 154 (9.1%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 27 (1.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 474 households (27.9%) were made up of individuals, and 130 (7.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37. There were 988 families (58.1% of all households); the average family size was 2.89.

The population was spread out, with 738 people (18.2%) under the age of 18, 300 people (7.4%) aged 18 to 24, 1,048 people (25.8%) aged 25 to 44, 1,560 people (38.5%) aged 45 to 64, and 411 people (10.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.5 males.

There were 1,895 housing units at an average density of , of which 69.5% were owner-occupied and 30.5% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1%; the rental vacancy rate was 3.0%. 72.8% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 26.6% lived in rental housing units.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Felton is in , and in .

In the United States House of Representatives, Felton is in .

Economy

A Graniterock quarry is located in Felton. As well as a Granite Construction Quarry and Asphalt Plant

References

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Census-designated places in Santa Cruz County, California
Census-designated places in California
1875 establishments in California