Q: Where was the San Benito County town of Groganville
located?
A: The community of
”
Groganville
”
still exists, but under a different name now. It was founded by
Alexander Grogan, an immigrant from Belfast, Ireland, who came to
San Francisco in 1848 and made his fortune during the California
Gold Rush.
Q: Where was the San Benito County town of Groganville located?
A: The community of “Groganville” still exists, but under a different name now. It was founded by Alexander Grogan, an immigrant from Belfast, Ireland, who came to San Francisco in 1848 and made his fortune during the California Gold Rush. In 1867, Grogan used $17,000 in gold coins to purchase from Francisco Villegas the Rancho Cienega de los Paicines. The Irishman also purchased about 2,000 acres of land from rancher Theophile Vache who had started a winery on Cienega Valley in 1854. This winery was the first commercial grape-growing business in San Benito County.
In 1874, seeing the need for dairy products for the booming town of Hollister, Grogan decided to develop his Paicines Ranch enterprise. He imported Ayrshire cows and began expanding his operations into a cheese-making operation by constructing several ranch buildings devoted to cheese making. Nearby along the dirt country road – which later became present-day Highway 25 – an agricultural village was established to service Grogan’s dairy operations as well as other ranchers in the southern region of South Valley.
The community had a small church, a general store and a hotel. For a period of three months in 1874, the town was known as Groganville. Today, the small community that was once Groganville is known as Paicines after Grogan’s dairy ranch.
Q: Did European royalty ever tour the South Valley on an official state visit?
A: Swedish Crown Prince Gustav Adolph and his wife Crown Princess Louise once journeyed to our region to help in the dedication of a summer resort in nearby Uvas Canyon. In 1926, the royal couple were on a tour of the United States. The Swedish American Patriotic League in the Bay Area had recently developed its 106-acre “Sveadal” resort set in the Santa Cruz Mountains just west of Morgan Hill, so Swedish Consul General Carl Wallerstedt asked the 44-year-old prince if he and his wife would officially dedicate the new vacation spot . The royal couple happily agreed.
On July 29, 1926, the big day arrived for the prince and princess to travel to the South Valley. After touring Stanford University’s campus, they and their entourage drove down to Morgan Hill.
On their arrival that morning, the royal couple were warmly greeted by about 500 local residents and members of the Swedish community in a procession down Monterey Street. The couple were soon taken to the downtown Skeels Hotel and greeted warmly by Harry and Cynthia Skeels. The proprietors and some of the city officials then took the Swedish couple to a second-story corner room overlooking Monterey Street. There, the couple stepped out onto the balcony to wave at the crowd. Prince Gustav Adolph addressed Morgan Hill citizens in both Swedish and English. The locals noticed Princess Louise wore pink garters discreetly below her knees.
Today, a historic plaque on the wall of the old Skeels Hotel in downtown Morgan Hill serves as one of the few reminders of the time European royalty graced the community with a special visit.
