Rountree, Almus L.

Almus Linneus Rountree (1828-1891), a native of Tennessee, came to Santa Cruz County in the 1850s. Timeline:

• 1862 - Rountree took over the Washington Market] on upper Willow Street (now Pacific Avenue), "two doors north of the San Lorenzo Exchange" (later site of the Pacific Ocean House). Washington Market can be seen at far right in the photo at right, from ~1880. Rountree may not have had any ownership interest by that date - an 1878 Sentinel ad listed J. D. Chase as proprietor.
• 1863 - Rountree acquired a large parcel of land that included Point Santa Cruz. He sold a small plot to the U.S. government, where a lighthouse was built in 1869.
• 1869 - elected County Sheriff, serving until 1871, when he declined to run again.
• 1870 - Rountree advertised himself as proprietor of the San Lorenzo Market on Mission Street.
• 1872 - Rountree left the meat business partnership he had entered in 1870.
• 1874 - the "Almus tract" was subdivided and sold in 5-acre parcels.
• 1877 - three of the 5-acre parcels were purchased by S. J. Lynch
• 1877 - Rountree leased the San Vicente Hotel at Davenport Landing
• 1878 - a Sentinel piece mention in passing that Rountree was proprietor of "Big Tree House" in Felton.
• 1878 - a letter to the Sentinel mentioned that Rountree had been appointed "justice of the peace at Felton" by the County Board of Supervisors.
• 1882 - following a resignation, Rountree was again appointed J of P, and won election to that office in November.
• 1884 - in an "Official Directory" printed in the Sentinel, Rountree was listed as a county "Field Assessor (Felton)", and sometimes as "Deputy Assessor". He was still hearing minor criminal cases as JofP in Felton.
• 1888 - finished fourth in at-large voting for County Supervisor. No subsequent mention of him as a Supervisor was found, so there were apparently fewer than four positions open.
• 1891 - Sentinel obituary

The office of Justice of the Peace included some judicial duties, and Rountree was sometimes referred to as Judge Rountree. Several descendents also went into law enforcement, including Undersheriff Richard Rountree, who died in the line of duty in 1925. The Rountree Detention Center in Watsonville is named for the family.

• History_Pages:_26_-_The_Quiet_Years
• Lighthouse Point: Illuminating Santa Cruz (2002 book)
• Tragedy on the Cliff: The Shooting of Sheriff Howard Trafton, Undersheriff Richard Rountree, and Paul Woodside", by Greg Gardner, Santa Cruz County History Journal Number 8