Forbes Mill
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| Forbes Mill Annex | |
|---|---|
| (U.S. National Register of Historic Places) | |
| Nearest city: | Los Gatos, California |
| Coordinates: | |
| Built/Founded: | 1880 |
| Added to NRHP: | July 31, 1978 |
| Reference #: | 78000776 [1] |
| Governing body: | Private |
Forbes Mill is a now-defunct mill originally built in 1854 located in Los Gatos, California which now serves as a museum after being saved from destruction in 1982. The mill is the first commercial building to be established in the city of Los Gatos. The existing two-story building is actually a storage annex which was added to the original four-story stone mill building in the fall of 1880.
Forbes Mill was built by James Alexander Forbes who was born in Scotland in 1804 or 1805. He came to California in about 1831 and served as Vice-Counsel in San Francisco for the British Government
The California Gold Rush gave James the idea to put up a flour mill as there were few in California at the time. He found a location on Los Gatos Creek that he thought would provide sufficient water power. In 1850 he purchased 3,000 acres (1214 ha) in the area of the Los Gatos Creek and proceeded to build a mill. In 1853 he raised the money for the construction, and in 1854 the mill was built. After many delays, the mill started grinding flour on December 1, 1855.
The opening of Forbes Mill was an auspicious moment in the history of the Santa Clara Valley. Built on the site of a Mexican rancho, the mill represented the shift of land ownership from the Californio Dons to the new settlers arriving after the Mexican-American War. The first three stories of the mill were built of stone quarried from the Los Gatos Canyon. The top story was wood, cut from trees in the mountains above Los Gatos. In 1880 an annex was attached to the north wall of the mill building. The town that grew around this building was first called Forbes Mill, then Forbestown, and finally Los Gatos.
Unfortunately, Forbes knew nothing about flour milling, over extended himself and was forced into bankruptcy. The mill passed from hand to hand until 1870 when a stock company headed by W.S. McMurtry and J.W. McMillen, took it over and made a success of it. It continued as a flour mill until 1887 when it became successively a power plant for the Los Gatos Ice and Power Company, a brewing and bottling company, the Los Gatos Gas Company and finally the PG&E substation for Los Gatos. The original "Santa Rosa" Flour Mill building was torn down between 1915 and 1929. The mill remained a storehouse for PG&E until after World War II. It was then abandoned and finally in 1971 it was revived as a youth center for Los Gatos.
Today the old mill annex operates as the History Museum of Los Gatos. On June 10, 1950, the California Centennial Commission commemorated the mill's contribution to the State's rich past by designating it as California Historical Landmark number 458. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ National Register Information System. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service (2006-03-15).
[edit] References
- Forbes Mill Annex. California's Historic Silicon Valley. National Parks Service. Retrieved on 2007-03-12.
[edit] External links
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