Hazel Dell Road is an approximately 4-mile rural highway located on the San Andreas Rift Zone in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Hazel Dell Road begins at the terminus of Browns Valley Road and extends southeast through a Coastal Redwood Grove to Mount Madonna Road.
The corridor of Hazel Dell Road traditionally has been the most direct link between Corralitos and Gilroy via Mount Madonna. This roadway has been in documented usage back to the era of Mexican Ranchos during the period of Alta California.
Part 1; the history of Hazel Dell Road
Hazel Dell Road is part of the original highway corridor between the communities of Corralitos and Gilroy. The Hazel Dell Road corridor begins at Browns Valley Road near Corralitos and extends southeasterly to the foot of Mount Madonna Road.
Mount Madonna Road was the original highway over the Santa Cruz Mountains which connected Gilroy, Watsonville and Corralitos. Traditionally the roadway was known as "Watsonville Road" through much of duration it served both communities. The roadway is named after nearby Mount Madonna which lies at an elevation of 1,897 feet above sea level.
The origin of Gilroy date back to Alta California and the arrival of Scotsman John Gilroy. John Gilroy was a crew member of armed merchant ship Issac Todd which was sent by the North West Company during the War of 1812 to capture American Fort Astoria. The Issac Todd arrived in the Spanish port of Monterey in January of 1814 where John Gilroy was either left behind or jumped ship to recover from Scurvy.
John Gilroy was a barrel maker and spent the next several years plying his trade in northern Alta California. John Gilroy eventually came to Rancho San Ysidro (which was on the Spanish El Camino Real) where he converted to Catholicism and became the first English speaking naturalized citizen of Alta California. In 1821 (the same year the Mexican's won independence from Spain) John Gilroy married Maria Clara who was the daughter of rancher Ygnacio Ortega. Upon the death of Ygnacio Ortega in 1833 Rancho San Ysidro was divided up between his three children. Following the Mexican-American War of 1848 the property rights to Rancho San Ysidro were granted to John Gilroy.
John Gilroy's property would soon grow into a town bearing his name. Given the close proximity of Gilroy to Pacheco Pass it became a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 to 1861. In 1868 Gilroy incorporated as a town and successfully lobbied to become a stop on the new Southern Pacific Railroad Line. The core of Gilroy was relocated westward to where the Southern Pacific Railroad would pass by, and the original town core came to be known as Old Gilroy. The Southern Pacific reached Gilroy by 1869 and was reincorporated as a city in March of 1870.
The area now comprising Corralitos was part of the Spanish Portola Expedition of 1769. The name roughly translates to "little pens," but it is unclear what this was referencing. At the time of Portola Expedition, the Monterey Bay side of the Santa Cruz Mountains was populated by the native Awaswas.
Following the establishment of Mission Santa Cruz during August 1791 the southern Santa Cruz Mountains would become entrenched as part of Spanish Province of Las Californias. By 1810 the name
Corralitos would be in common usage as a place east of Santa Cruz. During the era of Mexican Governance of Alta California approximately 15,440 acres of land would be granted to Jose Amesti as Rancho de Los Corralitos.
Following the Mexican-American War the lands would Alta California would be ceded to the United States. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided the Mexican land grants would be honored by the American Federal Government. A claim for Rancho de Los Corralitos would be filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant would be patented to Jose Amesti in 1861. Even by the 1850s Amesti was subdividing his land holdings which would form the basis for the modern unincorporated towns of Corralitos and Amesti.
In
1893 Santa Cruz County contracted W.S. Rogers to construct a modern truss bridge east of Corralitos across Corralitos Creek on Browns Valley Road. Previously traffic had to cross Corralitos Creek at Mill Street which was located south the Corralitos community. The Browns Valley Road truss span can be seen below as it was in 1919 (courtesy corralitoshistory.com).
Upper Browns Valley Road at the Swanson property can be seen as it was in 1916 (courtesy corralitoshistory.com).
Eastbound Hazel Dell Road can be seen branching east of Browns Valley Road at Redwood Canyon on the 1919 United States Geological Survey map of New Almaden. The Hazeldell School can be located along Browns Creek. This school appears to be the naming origin for Hazel Dell Road.
The eastern portion of Hazel Dell Road can be seen approaching Mount Madonna Road on the 1917 United States Geological Survey map of Morgan Hill. Much of the alignment seen here is now Old Hazel Dell Road.
The modern alignment of Hazel Dell Road near Mount Madonna Road first appears on the 1955 United States Geological Survey map. This map edition displays the San Andreas Fault Rift Zone which runs through the Hazel Dell Road corridor.
Part 2; a drive on Hazel Dell Road
Westbound Hazel Dell Road branches from Mount Madonna Road near Simas Lake.
Westbound Hazel Dell Road enters the forested area and intersects Old Hazel Dell Road. The older alignment no longer carries thru traffic.
Hazel Dell Road picks up the course of Browns Creek and follows it through a grove of Coastal Redwood. The Hazel Dell Road designation ends at Redwood Road and becomes Browns Valley Road.
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