Clems, California
Clems, California is a ghost town in Santa Cruz County with an elevation of 790 feet (241 meters). It is located a latitude 37055N, longitude 1215947W; decimal degrees: latitude 37.09806, longitude -121.99639.[1]
Clems was a stop located between Glenwood and Zayante on the narrow gauge railroad which operated from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz from 1880 to 1907. The line was standard-gauged in 1907.[2] The railroad was acquired in 1887 by the Southern Pacific, which added weekend excursion trains to the regular South Pacific Coast Railroad freight and mixed (freight and passenger) trains that operated several times a day. The tracks, tunnels, and bridges were badly damaged in the April 18, 1906, earthquake, then repaired or rebuilt.[3] Southern Pacific abandoned the line in March 1940, following a major storm. State Route 17 was completed that same year, bypassing Clems and most of the other stops along the old railroad right-of-way.[4]
Today the area is sparsely settled.[1]
References
- ^ a b Clems (historical), California: Clems (historical), California Latitude and Longitude
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey historic maps
- ^ Patchen, California - History of this early Santa Cruz Mountain town
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey map, 1940