Soquel

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Soquel-map-detail.png
Soquel-history-map.png

Soquel is one of the earliest and largest unincorporated communities in Santa Cruz County, and originally included today's city of Capitola. Straddling Soquel Creek, today's Soquel includes parts of two Mexican-era land grants: Rancho Soquel (east of Soquel Creek), and Rancho Arroyo del Rodeo (west of Soquel Creek). The original Rancho Soquel 1833 grantee was Martina Castro, who married Michael Lodge. The original Rancho Arroyo del Rodeo grantee was Francisco Rodriguez.

The word Soquel is the modern accepted variation on the name of a local native chieftain (see We Are Not Animals). Since his tribal group had no written language, the earliest written versions of the name were transcriptions by the Spanish missionaries, yielding variations such as Osocales (see Santa Cruz County Place Names). The 1940s map detail at left shows three variations that were still in use.

Early American-era residents included John Daubenbiss, Joshua Parrish, John S. Mattison, Lambert Clements, Gervis Hammond, Ned and Ben Porter, John Hames, Augustus Noble, and Joseph Averon.



The map of Soquel historic sites at right, by Ross Eric Gibson, accompanied the Gibson article "The birth pangs of Soquel Village", Santa Cruz Sentinel, Oct. 9, 2023, A2:1.