Pogonip Primer (continued)
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| The Cowell Ranch livestock operations continued under the direction
of Harry Cowell after the death of Henry Cowell, Sr. in 1903. Harry Cowell
bred race horses and managed herds of cattle on family ranches. In 1955 Harry
Cowell gave a large part of the Ranch to the State of California for the
development of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Before Harry Cowell's death
in 1955, he established the philanthropic S.H. Cowell Foundation which governed
Pogonip until its sale to the City of Santa Cruz in 1989.
In 1911, Fred Swanton, then developer of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, built the Casa del Rey Club and Golf Links at Pogonip. With financing through friend John Martin and the Southern Pacific Railroad, Swanton built an 18-hole golf course and the stately clubhouse. Swanton is also known for establishing Santa Cruz County's first power company, providing the first incandescent lighting in California; he developed the Santa Cruz Oil Company; built the pier, pavilion, casino and the Casa del Rey Hotel. Fred Swanton also served as Mayor of Santa Cruz from 1927-1933. By the early part of 1936, a group of polo enthusiasts motivated by Dorothy
Deming Wheeler incorporated to form the Pogonip Polo Club. Pogonip was well
known in the polo world of the 1930s and 1940s for its immaculate facilities
and wonderful view of Monterey Bay. Professionals were attracted from as
far away as Europe and South America. World War II brought an end to polo
at Pogonip and for a brief period the facilities served as a rehabilitation
site for service men. After a brief closure, the Pogonip Club reopened in
1948 as a social club.
Reprinted from City of Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Information |
