Throughout the course of its celebrated history, Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs (GYHS) has served a variety of purposes. It was a place to buy alcohol during Prohibition, a place to dry out from drinking too much and a refuge for Japanese families who had been interned during WWII.
When it opened in 1865, it quickly became a holiday hotspot for the well-heeled residents of San Francisco and nearby towns, drawing up to 300 guests daily.
Travelling by train from the Bay Area and then by stagecoach from Gilroy, families would stay for weeks at a time, drawn to the high quality accommodations and “miracle waters”—the “most healing waters in California,” according to a plaque that marks the old resort’s placement on the National Register of Historic Places.
“By taking the mineral bath, and sweating it out, and drinking the water, they lost the desire for drinking,” said Aiko (Kato) Kitaji, a former resident of GYHS in the REgenerations (Oral History) Project from 1998.
The original owners, a consortium of businessmen led by George W. Roop, developed the resort with an eye to make it a top destination for the socialites and power-brokers of the era, putting in a clubhouse with a games room and dining hall, cabins and two 5-star hotels.
“The resort would appear prominently in the San Francisco society pages,” said Matt Bischoff, a state park historian, during a tour of the site.
Two devastating fires in 1980 and 1992 destroyed the clubhouse, hotels and many of the 40 cabins that once stood on the grounds, now a part of Henry Coe State Park.
During the 1920s, when Prohibition made it a crime for folks to indulge in their favorite tipple, the resort put aside its teetotaler reputation and became the place to get your bootleg liquor and play the slot machines.
“Yeah it was fun up here,” said Karen Pogue, a docent who leads tours at the former resort.
In 1938, the property was bought by Kyuzaburo “HK” Sakata, a Japanese businessman who had become a prominent lettuce grower-shipper in Watsonville.
According to the oral history provided by Kitaji, who lived at the resort for 10 years after WWII, when it became transitional housing for Japanese families who had been interned during the war, Sakata bought the resort as a way to diversify his business holdings, so if his lettuce operation failed, “he could still write it off.” He also added the “Y for ‘Yamato,’ which means ‘Japanese,’” to its title.
Born in San Jose in 1919 to Japanese immigrant parents, Kitaji, along with her parents and nine brothers and sisters were sent to the internment camp in Poston, Arizona, for the duration of the war.
It was there she met Sakata and her future husband, whom she married at the camp; her first two children were also born there.
After the war
When the war ended, Sakata, who had a local manager take care of his business interests while he was interned, invited many Japanese families to live at GYHS, including Kitaji and her husband and brother-in-law, who served as the resort’s mechanic and manager, respectively.
Sakata had about 50 families live at the resort until they could get back on their feet.
Park historian Bischoff said you could tell where paths were widened to make room for cars as residents drove up to their cabins.
To make it more accommodating to Japanese guests, Sakata included various landscaping motifs, including a bamboo garden. He installed a footbridge he got from the Japan Pavilion at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition at Treasure Island.
A Shinto shrine, believed to be the oldest in California, was obtained by a guest as a tribute to the healing waters of the resort. According to Kitaji’s oral history, this guest was a “young man from Japan” who “liked to drink quite a bit.” Sakata offered him free room and board if he would bathe in and drink the curative mineral waters.
The man, called K. Yamada in the resort’s official literature, came to the resort and, though he did not care for the sulfur smell of the waters at first, according to Kitaji, he took the cure and stopped drinking alcohol.
Sakata built a freshwater pool in 1955, which attracted more Gilroy families to the site, making it a popular place for picnics and social gatherings.
A GYHS volunteer, JJ Sasaki, remembers the resort from this era. Born in Watsonville, Sasaki grew up in San Jose and he would come to the hot springs with his parents.
“Drinking the waters keep you strong,” said the 76-year-old, smiling.
The naturally warm mineral waters, ranging from 99-111 degrees Fahrenheit, are not as abundant as they once were. Bischoff said early guests were able to dip a long-handled ladle into the well to draw out a drink, the spring was so near the surface.
Pogue said multiple generations of local Japanese families would come to the resort and over the years, many testimonials would appear, sharing how important the resort was to the Japanese families who stayed there.
Sakata sold GYHS in 1964, according to Wikipedia, because of the high cost of complying with new county building codes.
The resort fell into a state of neglect over the subsequent years, when, Wikipedia continues, a new owner, headquartered in Osaka, Japan, would buy it in 1988 with aims of turning it into a Japanese cultural center.
The property was subsequently sold to the California Department of Parks and Recreation and GYHS became a part of Henry Coe State Park in 2003.
“It is so peaceful and calming,” said Pogue. “This is a place of healing—providing rest, retreat and renewal to everyone who comes here.”
Onward
Bischoff and a team of dedicated volunteers have been working on restoring GYHS, which is closed to the public and only accessible by guided tour or when there is a special event.
“Children Through History” is the next event at GYHS, on Saturday, May 28, featuring docent and staff tours, displays, entertainment and activities for the family. Participants are invited to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the grounds, along with their favorite board game. Cost is $15 per person; children under 12 are free with an adult. All proceeds go toward protecting and restoring the park for future generations to enjoy.
The site is regularly patrolled by rangers and under video surveillance to keep trespassers out.
“It was left in real bad shape,” said Bischoff while standing in one of the remaining cabins, its flooring buckled at places and the walls cracked. “We are trying to keep as much of the historic fabric as possible.”
Through a mix of state funds and private donations, a historic preservation crew is aiming to restore the resort’s remaining buildings. The goal is to provide overnight accommodations at some point in the future.
“It takes about $350,000, not including septic and water, to restore each cabin,” said Bischoff during a tour of the first restored cabin, called Texas. All of the resort’s 40 cabins were given state names.
The restoration crew is currently working on Pennsylvania, shoring up its foundation to keep it from sliding down the hill.
“We are trying to stabilize all the buildings so none are lost,” he said.
Bischoff is also planning out the future utility needs of the place.
The resort once boasted three bathhouses, of which two remain, along with a warm water pool, which had pipes connecting them to the mineral well.
The pipes are long gone.
“If we are going to restore these buildings, how are we going to get electricity and plumbing to the cabins?” asked Bischoff.
The utility plan will also guide how many cabins can be realistically restored.
“We have to find a balance,” he added.
GYHS presents: Children Through History
When: Saturday, May 28, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. $15/under 12 free with adult. Bring a picnic.
RSVP: 314-7185 or in**@Gi********************.org.
Getting there: Travel east on Leavesley Rd, turn left on New Ave, right on Roop Rd, veer left onto Gilroy Hot Springs Rd, cross the big green bridge and continue to end of road. Please carpool.
