A Year to Remember in Watsonville
1868
The year 1868 saw many important beginnings in downtown Watsonville. It was the year Watsonville was incorporated, the first nursery was established by James Waters and Jacob Blackburn, All Saints Episcopal Church was founded, the first wharf was built at the mouth of the Pájaro River, Martinelli’s was founded by Stephen Gasper Martinelli, and the Register-Pajarionian, Watsonville’s first newspaper and now its oldest business, made its debut.
The Pajaronian first started as a weekly newspaper published every Thursday. The subscription rate was $5 a year – in advance; a single copy would have cost 12 ½ cents. There was a column in the first issue titled “Where We Are” that located Watsonville for the uninitiated as the railroad was not to arrive until 1871.
“The most convenient way of reaching here from San Francisco is to take the cars to San José, from there Conner’s line of stages whirl you along the line of the San José and Gilroy railroad; striking off at the 21 mile house, the road runs over the Coast Range. Arriving at the summit, a beautiful view is obtained of the Pájaro Valley on a clear day. No finer scenery can be found in the entire state.”
Marker is on Main Street (State Highway 152) south of West Beach Street, on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
