Aptos, California

Aptos was traditionally inhabited by the Awaswas tribe of Ohlone people. The name is one of only three native words that have survived (in Hispanicized form) as place names in Santa Cruz County (the others are Soquel and Zayante).

The first European land exploration of Alta California, the Spanish Portolá expedition, passed through the area on its way north, camping at one of the creeks on October 16, 1769. The expedition diaries don't provide enough information to be sure which creek it was, but the direction of travel was northwest, parallel to the coast. Franciscan missionary Juan Crespi, traveling with the expedition, noted in his diary that, "We stopped on the bank of a small stream, which has about four varas of deep running water. It has on its banks a good growth of cottonwoods and alders; on account of the depth at which it runs it may be that it cannot be utilized to water some plains through which it runs."{{cite book |last=Bolton |first=Herbert E. |page=214 |year=1927 |title=Fray Juan Crespi: Missionary Explorer on the Pacific Coast, 1769-1774 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b233487;view=1up;seq=1 |publisher=HathiTrust Digital Library | access-date=July 19, 2017}} Crespi diary translator Herbert Bolton speculated that the location was Soquel Creek, but it could have been Aptos Creek.

In 1833 the government of Mexico granted Rafael Castro the {{convert|6656|acre|km2|adj=on}} Rancho Aptos. Initially Castro raised cattle for their hides, but after California became a state in 1850, Castro leased his land to Americans who built a wharf, general store, and lumber mill. The original town was located where Aptos Village Square is now. In 1853 a leather tannery was built, and the main building is a bed & breakfast inn {{citation needed|date=December 2023}}.

In 1875, Frederick A. Hihn and Claus Spreckels partnered to build the Santa Cruz Railroad, and routed it through Aptos where they both had development interests - Hihn with the Loma Prieta Lumber Company, and Spreckels with his Aptos Hotel resort. The railroad tracks ran directly adjacent to the Santa Cruz Watsonville road, whose route was originally established by the 1769 Spanish exploratory expedition led by Gaspar de Portolá.

File:Bayview Hotel, Aptos, California.jpg

In 1878 Augustia Castro, daughter of Rafael Castro, and her husband José Arano built the Victorian, Bayview Hotel in Aptos village. The hotel is a Santa Cruz County landmark. It is Santa Cruz county's oldest operating hotel. It has been a State Historic Monument since 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1993.Santa Cruz County History, Santa Cruz Public Library article by Ross Eric Gibson{{cite web|url=http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/355/|work=Santa Cruz County History - Tourism|publisher=Santa Cruz Public Libraries|title=The Spirit of Aptos: 116-Year-Old Hotel to Become Landmark|first=Ross Eric|last=Gibson|access-date=14 July 2015|archive-date=September 11, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911235131/http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/355/|url-status=dead}} Since being originally built, the hotel was moved to its current location.Hotel Bayview{{cite web|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=25571#:~:text=It%20was%20moved%20150%20feet%20west%20in%201953%20and%20remains%20today%20the%20oldest%20hotel%20in%20Santa%20Cruz%20County.|work=Aptos in Santa Cruz County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)|publisher=THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE| title=Hotel Bayview }}

In the mid to late 1800s, a series of major epidemics hit the area. A particularly bad one occurred in the early winter of 1868. Cases of smallpox were reported among the poor of San Juan Bautista. Efforts were made to localize the rapidly spreading disease, such as, barricading the roads leading in and out of San Juan Bautista. These efforts failed however, and when cases appeared in Watsonville, Santa Cruz citizens attempted to again quarantine the disease by destroying the Aptos Bridge. These efforts again failed and only created a rift between the two cities. The death toll of the smallpox epidemic lead to the local press publishing of the latest remedies available for home use as well as methods to prevent the spread of smallpox and inoculations.{{cite web|url=http://aptoshistory.org/aptos_history.html|title=The History of Aptos| publisher=Aptos History Museum |access-date=14 July 2015}}{{cite web|url=http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/315/|work=Santa Cruz County History - Disasters & Calamities|publisher=Santa Cruz Public Libraries|title=Voices of the Heart: Introduction|first=Phil|last=Reader|access-date=14 July 2015|archive-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518183653/http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/315/|url-status=dead}}

By 1872, Claus Spreckels, a sugar millionaire, began buying the land from Castro. He built a hotel near the beach and a summer mansion and ranch with a racetrack for his horses. A large area was fenced and stocked with deer for hunting, and became known as "the Deer Park," home of today's Deer Park Center.

From 1880 to 1920 redwood timber harvesting became the major industry, and Aptos became a boom town. The Loma Prieta Lumber Company logged all of what is now The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. The Valencia Mill logged everything to the east. Within 40 years the hills were bare, and apples became the next industry. The Hihn Apple Barn is a historic building from that era; in 2016-2017, the building had been relocated nearby to be used as a grocery store and make way for a shopping complex.

On March 16–20, 1905, the Leonard Ranch near La Selva was the site of experiments with a new tandem-wing glider designed and built by John J. Montgomery. Hoisted aloft by hot-air balloon to considerable heights, over a series of test flights pilot Daniel J. Maloney was able to demonstrate the control and flight of the Montgomery glider design. These flights, with starting altitudes over 3,000 feet above the ground, were the first high-altitude flights in the world.Harwood C.S., Fogel G.B. Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West University of Oklahoma Press, 2012. A marker was placed at this location in 2005 honoring the centennial of these accomplishments.{{cite web|url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM9QF9_First_High_Altitude_Aeroplane_Flights_March_1905_Aptos_CA |title=First High Altitude Aeroplane Flights March 1905 - Aptos, CA - E Clampus Vitus Historical Markers on |publisher=Waymarking.com |date=2010-09-19 |access-date=2015-08-16}}

After Spreckels' death, Seacliff Park and Rio Del Mar Country Club (today's Seacliff State Beach) were developed in the late 1920s. Rio Del Mar Country Club included a clubhouse, a grand hotel on the bluffs, a beach club, a polo field, and a golf course. The estuary was filled in (now Rio Beach Flats) and the SS Palo Alto cement ship was moored and converted into an amusement pier with restaurants, swimming pool, and a dance pavilion. Both Rio Del Mar and Seacliff were popular during Prohibition as drinking and gambling were discreetly available. These amusements were interrupted by the Great Depression and World War II.

In the early 1960s Aptos began a period of rapid development, including Cabrillo College, Rancho Del Mar Shopping Center, the Seascape Resort development, and many residential developments.

In 2023, Microsoft named a new Windows font after this community.{{Cite news |last=Valentino |first=Silas |date=May 23, 2024 |title=Aptos is world famous, but nobody in the Calif. town knows why |url=https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/aptos-coastal-calif-profile-microsoft-typeface-19468314.php |access-date=2024-05-23 |work=SFGATE |language=en}}[https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/22/us/microsoft-default-font-aptos-calibri-cec/index.html Why a small change by Microsoft was a big jolt for some users]

File:Rio del Mar, California (1) (cropped).jpg, and Aptos Creek]]

For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Aptos as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area is limited in contrast to the local understanding of the area with the same name. The population of the CDP was 6,664 at the 2020 census.{{cite web

| url = https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/aptoscdpcalifornia/POP010220

| title = Aptos CDP QuickFacts

| publisher = US Census Bureau

| access-date = March 31, 2025}} The CDP has a total area of {{convert|6.6|sqmi|km2}}, all land. The southwestern geographical boundary is Monterey Bay, while the northeast boundary is the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Aptos is bisected northwest-to-southeast by the State Route 1 freeway and includes the ZIP codes 95001 and 95003.

{{US Census population

| 2020= 6664

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade.html|title=Decennial Census by Decade|website=United States Census Bureau|access-date=}}
1850–1870{{Cite web|title= 1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Almeda County to Sutter County |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1870/population/1870a-12.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}}{{Cite web|title= 1870 Census of Population - Population of Civil Divisions less than Counties - California - Tehama County to Yuba County |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1870/population/1870a-13.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}} 1880-1890{{Cite web|title= 1890 Census of Population - Population of California by Minor Civil Divisions |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1890/bulletins/demographics/134-population-of-ca.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}}
1900{{Cite web|title= 1900 Census of Population - Population of California by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1900/bulletins/demographic/10-population-ca.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}} 1910{{Cite web|title= 1910 Census of Population - Supplement for California |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1910/abstract/supplement-ca.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}} 1920{{Cite web|title= 1920 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1920/bulletins/demographics/population-ca-number-of-inhabitants.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}}
1930{{Cite web|title= 1930 Census of Population - Number and Distribution of Inhabitants - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1930/population-volume-1/03815512v1ch03.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}} 1940{{Cite web|title= 1940 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1940/population-volume-1/33973538v1ch03.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}} 1950{{Cite web|title= 1950 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/population-volume-1/vol-01-08.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}}
1960{{Cite web|title= 1960 Census of Population - General population Characteristics - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1960/population-volume-1/vol-01-06-d.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}} 1970{{Cite web|title= 1970 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1970a_ca1-01.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}} 1980{{Cite web|title= 1980 Census of Population - Number of Inhabitants - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_caAB-01.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}}
1990{{Cite web|title= 1990 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/cen1990/cph2/cph-2-6.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}}

2000{{Cite web|title= 2000 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2003/dec/phc-3-6.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}} 2010{{Cite web|title= 2010 Census of Population - Population and Housing Unit Counts - California |url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/2010/cph-2/cph-2-6.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau}}

}}

Image:Aptos parade.jpg | last=Men|first=Calvin |date=July 4, 2017|access-date=July 19, 2017}}]]

The 2020 United States census reported that Aptos had a population of 6,664. The population density was {{convert|1,013.1|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of Aptos was 76.1% White, 1.1% African American, 1.2% Native American, 3.9% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 5.7% from other races, and 11.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.0% of the population.

The census reported that 98.7% of the population lived in households, 1.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.

There were 2,675 households, out of which 25.7% included children under the age of 18, 52.4% were married-couple households, 6.1% were cohabiting couple households, 25.2% had a female householder with no partner present, and 16.3% had a male householder with no partner present. 25.1% of households were one person, and 15.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.46. There were 1,781 families (66.6% of all households).

The age distribution was 17.5% under the age of 18, 6.9% aged 18 to 24, 20.7% aged 25 to 44, 28.9% aged 45 to 64, and 25.9% who were 65{{nbsp}}years of age or older. The median age was 48.9{{nbsp}}years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males.

There were 2,847 housing units at an average density of {{convert|432.8|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}, of which 2,675 (94.0%) were occupied. Of these, 76.5% were owner-occupied, and 23.5% were occupied by renters.{{cite web |title=Aptos CDP, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=1600000US0602378 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 31, 2025}}{{cite web |title=Aptos CDP, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P16?g=1600000US0602378 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 31, 2025}}

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that of the population aged 25 or older, 98.3% were high school graduates and 54.3% had a bachelor's degree.{{cite web |title=Aptos CDP, California; CP02: Comparative Social Characteristics in the United States - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSCP5Y2023.CP02?g=1600000US0602378 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 31, 2025}} The median household income was $135,349, and the per capita income was $71,896. About 0.9% of families and 4.0% of the population were below the poverty line.{{cite web |title=Aptos CDP, California; DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2023.DP03?g=1600000US0602378 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 31, 2025}}

In the California State Legislature, Aptos is in {{Representative|casd|17|fmt=sdistrict}}, and in {{Representative|caad|30|fmt=adistrict}}.{{Cite web |title=Final Maps {{!}} California Citizens Redistricting Commission |url=https://wedrawthelines.ca.gov/final-maps/ |access-date=2023-01-11 |language=en}}

In the United States House of Representatives, Aptos is in {{Representative|cacd|19|fmt=district}}.{{Cite GovTrack|CA|20}}

Image:USA-Aptos-Seacliff State Beach.jpg

Aptos is home to both the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park and Seacliff State Beach California state parks. [https://scparks.com/Home/ExploreOurParksBeaches/AllCountyParks/HiddenBeachCountyPark.aspx Hidden Beach] has a playground and a path that leads to the ocean. Nisene Marks is popular with hikers and mountain bikers. The San Andreas Fault Zone passes nearby and the epicenter of the M6.9 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake lies within.{{citation|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1127/chapter4.pdf|publisher=United States Geological Survey | date=November 27, 2005|title=Chapter 4 - Forest of Nisene Marks State Park: Epicenter of the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake|first=Phil|last=Stoffer}}

Aptos is also home to the annual Fourth of July "World's Shortest Parade," so called because the parade route is about {{Convert|0.6|mi|km|0}} long.{{cite news |url=http://sf.funcheap.com/worlds-shortest-parade-4th-july-festival-aptos/|title=Aptos; World's Shortest 4th of July Parade|work=sf.funcheap.com|access-date=July 19, 2017}}

Aptos Park is the site of the annual Aptos Blues Festival.{{cite web|url=http://portal.clubrunner.ca/4237/Stories/the-aptos-blues-festival |title=Capitola/Aptos - The APTOS Blues Festival |publisher=Portal.clubrunner.ca |access-date=2015-08-16}} Several well-known performers have performed at the festival, including B.B. King,{{Cite web|title = The Santa Cruz Blues Festival changes its name, leadership and focus, but all else stays the same|url = http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/arts-and-entertainment/20150321/the-santa-cruz-blues-festival-changes-its-name-leadership-and-focus-but-all-else-stays-the-same|work= Santa Cruz Sentinel | date = 21 March 2015|access-date = 2017-07-19}} Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Ray Charles, Leon Russell, Los Lobos, Gregg Allman, the Doobie Brothers, Bonnie Raitt,{{cite web |url=https://www.zerve.com/d/aptos |title=What To Do in Aptos, California (CA) |publisher=Zerve |access-date=2015-08-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121022338/https://www.zerve.com/d/aptos |archive-date=2015-11-21 |url-status=dead }} and Al Green.

Cabrillo College is a two-year community college in Aptos.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cabrillo.edu/ |title=Cabrillo College |date=2017-06-06 |access-date=2017-06-08 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606054807/http://www.cabrillo.edu/ |archive-date=2017-06-06 }}

Aptos has three public elementary schools: Valencia Elementary, Rio Del Mar Elementary, and Mar Vista Elementary.{{cite web|title=Valencia Elementary School|url=http://www.valencia.pvusd.net/|publisher=Pajaro Valley Unified School District | access-date=2017-01-24}}{{Cite web|date=June 26, 2021|title=Search for schools and colleges: Aptos, California|url=https://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/index.asp?search=1&State=CA&city=Aptos&zipcode=&miles=&itemname=&sortby=name&School=1&PrivSchool=1&College=1&Status=Search+Finished&Records=0&CS=2E1BF54B|url-status=live|access-date=June 26, 2021|website=National Center for Education Statistics|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210626184914/https://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/index.asp?search=1&State=CA&city=Aptos&zipcode=&miles=&itemname=&sortby=name&School=1&PrivSchool=1&College=1&Status=Search+Finished&Records=0&CS=2E1BF54B |archive-date=2021-06-26 }} It also has one junior high school, Aptos Junior High School,{{Cite web|url=https://ajhs-pajaro-ca.schoolloop.com/ |title=Aptos Junior High School |date=2016-10-19 |access-date=2017-06-08 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019141923/https://ajhs-pajaro-ca.schoolloop.com/ |archive-date=2016-10-19 }} and one high school, Aptos High School.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aptoshs.net/|title=Aptos High School: Home Page|website=www.aptoshs.net|language=en|access-date=2017-06-08}} Private schools include Santa Cruz Montessori School,{{Cite web|url=http://www.scms.org/ |title=Santa Cruz Montessori|date=2016-11-04 |access-date=2017-07-19 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161104180517/http://www.scms.org/ |archive-date=2016-11-04 }} Orchard School,{{Cite web|url=http://orchardschoolaptos.org/ |title=Orchard School |date=2016-11-14 |access-date=2017-06-08 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161114063050/http://orchardschoolaptos.org/ |archive-date=2016-11-14 }} and Twin Lakes Christian School.{{Cite web|url=https://www.tlcs.us/|title=Twin Lakes Christian School |access-date=2017-07-19}} Aptos Academy, a pre-school through eighth grade private school, closed in 2013.{{Cite news|author=Shanna McCord |url=http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/zz/20130613/NEWS/130617993|title=Aptos Academy closing its doors after 14 years |date=2013-06-13 |newspaper=Santa Cruz Sentinel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405043521/http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/zz/20130613/NEWS/130617993 |archive-date=2017-04-05 }}

The Aptos Little League baseball team made it to the Little League World Series in 2002, and was the subject of a documentary film on PBS, Small Ball: A Little League Story.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/smallball/af_synopsis.shtml|title=SMALL BALL: A Little League Story Synopsis.|publisher=pbs.org|access-date=July 19, 2017}}

• Frank Drake - SETI Founder, prominent Astronomer, Drake Equation.
• Peter Mel, Professional Surfer, attended Aptos High School, class of 1987
• Trent Dilfer, National Football League quarterback, attended Aptos High School, class of 1990
• Nikki Hiltz, professional Runner, attended Aptos Middle School
• Dave Draper, body builder, actor, motivational speaker, and author
• Mark Eichhorn, Major League Baseball pitcher
• Randy Kramer, Major League Baseball pitcher, Professional baseball scout Toronto Blue Jays.
• Lou Harrison, composer
• Daniel Henry Holmes Ingalls, Jr., computer scientist
• Harry Hooper, Major League Baseball player and member of the Hall of Fame, lived in Capitola, California and is buried in Aptos. Harry Hooper was one of two players traded by the Boston Red Sox, along with Babe Ruth, that created the Curse of the Bambino.
• Edmund Kemper, also known as the Co-ed Butcher or the Co-ed Killer, an American serial killer, necrophile, and cannibal
• Marisa Miller, model
• Bill Miller, Major League Baseball umpire
• John J. Montgomery, aviation pioneer
• Thomas Pynchon, author
• George Windle Read, Jr., United States Army Lieutenant General

{{Portal|California}}

• Seascape Beach Resort
• Aptos (typeface)

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikivoyage|Aptos}}

{{Commons category|Aptos, California|
Aptos, California}}

• [http://www.aptoshistory.org/ Aptos History Museum]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090222115427/http://aptos.ca/ Aptos Community Site]
• [http://www.aptoscommunitynews.org/ Aptos Community News and Information]
• [http://www.aptoschamber.com/index.php Aptos Chamber of Commerce]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060720093708/http://santacruz.org/places/aptos.shtml Santa Cruz County Conference & Visitors Council - Aptos Visitor Information]

{{Cities of Santa Cruz County, California}}

{{California Central Coast}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Census-designated places in Santa Cruz County, California

Category:Populated coastal places in California

Category:Census-designated places in California