Cowell Lime Works
The Cowell Lime Works were established in 1853, on land that is now part of the UCSC campus, as the Davis & Jordan Lime and Cement Company. Henry Cowell (1819-1903), a Massachusetts native, acquired the Jordan share in 1865, and became sole owner in 1889. Lime operations ceased in the 1940s, but son S. H. (Harry) Cowell held the ranch into the 1950s before establishing the S. H. Cowell Foundation before he died in 1955.
The Foundation made two large donations of the Cowell estate land. In addition to the UCSC campus, another large area became the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. This land included the later "Rincon" Cowell lime operation just northwest (away from Santa Cruz) from where the railroad tracks cross Highway 9. The old wagon road that connected the two lime works areas is now a hike/bike trail into the Pogonip area and up to UCSC.
- History Pages: 16 - Lime and Wine
- History Pages: 19 - Return of the Limeburners
- Friends of Cowell Lime Works
- Lime Kiln Legacies (2007 book), by Frank Perry et al.
- "Henry Cowell: The Enigmatic Figure of Santa Cruz History", by Dunn, Geoffrey, SCPL articles
- "'None Can Compare': When the Lime Industry Ruled Santa Cruz County", by Dunn, Geoffrey, SCPL articles
