In 1986, the County commenced to survey historical resources in the County to serve as the baseline for the County’s Historic Preservation Program, which was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on February 14, 1989. The Historic Preservation Ordinance (Chapter 16.42, Volume 2, of the County Code, revised May 1991) governs the treatment of the historical resources listed in the inventory.

In 1993, the County Historical Resources Commission recognized the need to update the inventory due to damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and other events, as well as the lack of a historic context statement for consistent evaluation criteria. Historic context statements help to establish recognized, consistent thresholds for the interpretation of resources in a particular area within the broader, recognized historical context of the state and the nation. This allows for the creation and application of consistent evaluation criteria, ensuring that potential resources are not overlooked. After receiving a Certified Local Government program (CLG program) grant from the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), the Historical Resources Commission consultant Susan Lehmann, along with County Planning Department staff, initiated a project to compile the County’s first historic context statement. The project also sought to expand the existing inventory to include previously unsurveyed properties and revise it to exclude those historic properties that had been destroyed after the earthquake.

The result of the project was the 1994 County of Santa Cruz Surevey of Historic Resources Update and Context Statemewnt (1994 Context Statement), prepared by Susan Lehmann, Historical Resources Consultant. In addition to a brief discussion about the Precontact- (“Precontact” is used here in place of “Prehistoric” to acknowledge Native American communities prior to contact with outside cultures, including but not limited to Europeans), Spanish-, and Mexican-period development of the area, the 1994 Context Statement offered an account of the historical development of the County from 1840 to 1940. This period was divided into three contexts, called themes, with associated focused subcategories. The three themes with associated subcategories were presented as follows:

Context 1: Economic Development in Santa Cruz County (1850–1940)

• Agriculture
• Industry other than Agriculture
• Transportation

Context 2: Residential, Commercial and Institutional Architecture in Santa Cruz County (1840–1940)

• Spanish Mission and Spanish Colonial Style
• Romantic Styles
• Victorian Styles
• Eclectic Styles

Context 3: Institutions in Santa Cruz County (1840–1940)

• Schools
• Churches
• Fraternal and Community Organizations

The California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) recommends updating historic context statements approximately every 5 years to ensure that local and preservation planning decisions are based on the most up to date information. The current historic context statement has not been updated in 31 years. At the time that the 1994 Context Statement was prepared, the author addressed resources that were built before 1940, or 54 years old and older at the time. The document overlooks critical periods of historical development within the County that have since become relevant, as they now include several decades of potential historical resources over 50 years old.

The 1994 Context Statement took a narrow approach in its discussion of the many ethnic and cultural groups who have contributed greatly to the cultural landscape of the County. The context statement declares that due to limited available secondary source material on these groups, “Rather than treat ethnic contributions as a separate Context or even as sub-topics, any information available about a particular ethnic group [was] woven into the over-all topics such as industry, agriculture, education and religion where applicable … Although a very good history of the Chinese in the Monterey Bay region by Sandy Lydon has been published, the histories of the Mexican, Filipino, Japanese, Italian, Portuguese and Slavic people have yet to be written.” The document therefore does not provide a holistic picture of the experience of these groups in the County, which makes the identification of meaningful historical resources associated with them difficult.

Historic context statements are intended to be living documents that require updates in perpetuity to ensure they remain aligned with current professional standards and accurately reflect ongoing changes in historical understanding. The guidance for the preparation of historic contexts has been updated by OHP to emphasize a more comprehensive and analytical approach to understanding and evaluating historical resources, which entails placing an emphasis on property types rather than individual buildings or architectural styles. By establishing a framework for identifying property types, history can more readily be linked with the built environment.

This 2025 Historic Context Statement Update aims to enhance the 1994 Context Statement by addressing the lack of information related to the cultural and ethnic populations living and working in the County between 1850 and 1990. The structure of this addendum-style update aims to provide an account of the diverse histories of the populations who have contributed greatly to the development of the County that is both more thorough and more precise. The purpose of this focus is to identify potential historical resources associated with these groups and their histories that were previously not addressed. The broad nature of this discussion is organized using the brief developed histories of each of the General Plan planning areas of the County.

This Historic Context Statement Update therefore focuses on the period from 1850 through roughly 1990 in Santa Cruz County, a timeframe selected to capture the full arc of Santa Cruz County’s development from early statehood through the late twentieth century. This timeframe encompasses significant shifts in population, industry, and community life in the County, and includes eras and events that have become eligible for consideration as historic resources that were not covered in the 1994 Context statement. By extending the timeframe for this Historic Context Update through 1990, this ensures that properties and narratives reflecting more recent and diverse histories—including those of cultural and ethnic groups that were systematically excluded and historically overlooked —are recognized and evaluated according to current preservation standards.

This document introduces new relevant themes with associated property types, eligibility requirements, and integrity thresholds. The report also includes the evaluative criteria of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), California Register of Historical Resources (CRHR), and County Historic Resources Inventory.