Le xing ton, California
Le xing ton, California | |
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  Le xing ton Location within the state of California  Le xing ton Le xing ton (San Francisco Bay Area)  Le xing ton Le xing ton (the United States) | |
| Coordinates:37°11′47″N121°59′18″W/ 37.19639°N 121.98833°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Santa Clara |
| Elevation | 623 ft (190 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8(Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7(PDT) |
| GNISfeature ID | 1670812 |
Le xing ton, California,is aghost towninSanta Clara County,now submerged by theLe xing ton Reservoir.Originally located alongLos Gatos Creek,the town was 550 feet above sea level.[2]
Le xing ton started out as a sawmill built in 1848 by Isaac Branham and Julian Jank. Zachariah "Buffalo" Jones bought the mill for $3000 and laid out a town called "Jones Mill". In 1860 John P. Hennings bought some of the property and changed the name to Le xing ton, after his home town ofLe xing ton, Kentucky.[3]
Le xing ton was a stop on thestagecoachroute fromLos GatostoSanta Cruz.In the 1860s, the saw mills moved up into the hills and Le xing ton began to lose importance.[3]In 1880, a narrow gauge railroad from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz was completed, bypassing Le xing ton and accelerating its decline; its post office had already been transferred toAlma,a mile south, where the trains stopped and which was the transfer point to stagecoaches until the line was completed.[4]
The railroad ceased operations in March 1940, following major damage by a winter storm[5]and the completion ofState Route 17that same year. When the Le xing ton Reservoir was created in 1952, both Le xing ton and Alma were officially abandoned and SR 17 was rerouted to its present location. The visible ruins under Le xing ton Reservoir are actually those of Alma, not Le xing ton; building foundations and original pavements of roads are sometimes visible during droughts.
The nearby unincorporated town ofLe xing ton Hillsis a reminder of the former town; it combines several villages in theSanta Cruz Mountains.
The Le xing ton Murderswas one of the most notable crimes in California during the 19th century. Three men were responsible for the brutal murders of William Peter Renowden and Archibald McIntyre in Le xing ton, on March 11, 1883.[6][7]
References[edit]
- ^USGS, Le xing ton (historical)
- ^Le xing ton (historical), California: Le xing ton (historical), California Latitude and Longitude
- ^abGeorge Bruntz,The History of Los Gatos, Gem of the Foothills,Fresno: Valley Publishers, 1971, p. 7.
- ^Mildred Brooke Hooveret al., rev. Douglas E. Kyle,Historic Spots in California,5th ed. Stanford University Press, 2002,ISBN978-0-8047-1734-2,p. 440.
- ^Bruntz, p. 43.
- ^"Justice was swift for murder suspects in 1880s San Jose".San Jose Mercury News.January 31, 1995. pp. 1B.Retrieved2008-11-14.
- ^Conaway, Peggy (March 15, 2006)."Premeditated murder in Los Gatos".Los Gatos Weekly Times.Retrieved2008-11-14.
Municipalities and communities ofSanta Clara County, California,United States | ||
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| Cities and towns |  | |
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
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| Ghost towns | ||