In 1870, Feltonite Otis Ashely complained in a letter to the Santa Cruz Sentinel: “We have a county grog-shop at the toll gate on the San Lorenzo Road. We would inquire what runs that institution? The Supervisors compel us to pay one hundred dollars a month for a man to oversee the road and keep the toll gate. Now where do the proceeds of that grog-shop go? Do they go into the county treasury, or do they go to help repair the road, or do the people of the San Lorenzo Valley have to pay one hundred dollars a month for a man to take charge of the roads and at the same time keep a grog-shop, and put the proceeds into his own pocket.”
Tolls collected averaged around $400 per month, so after paying the toll collector, Eben Bennett, there was barely sufficient to adequately maintain the road, which needed constant repairs in the winter, and sprinkling with water in the summer to keep the dust down.
Image: An early image of the Toll House, July 1, 1890, when it was being operated by Charles Hartman. Charles is in the center of the image. James Hartman Collection, San Lorenzo Valley Museum.
In his obituary in 1904, Santa Cruz pioneer and millman George Collins is credited with building the section of the road [from the new town of Felton] to Big Trees around 1867. His lumber mill was just south of Felton near Gold Gulch and he needed to ship his lumber over the Graham Hill Grade. This section of road was not well travelled until the turnpike to Santa Cruz was completed. He is also credited with erecting the Toll Gate House.
In September 1872, the Toll Gate House was purchased from John Hagar by H. F. Beckmann who enlarged and updated the premises. He also stocked it with choice wines, cigars, and other refreshments and supplies to cater to picnic parties, hunters, fishermen, and campers. A new road to the Big Tree grove was built that turned off near the toll gate. Visitors to and from the grove were encouraged to visit the Beckmann House for “information.”
In November 1872, it was announced that the road would no longer be a turnpike, the toll gate would be removed and that the county would take over maintenance of the road. “We congratulate our citizens and teamsters on the removal of this tax; it was an onerous burthen [sic] and should have been abolished long ago.”
However in 1876, a franchise to the road was granted to John Shearer and John Mahanney for two years, provided they did not increase the rate of tolls over that collected by Eben Bennett.
The toll gate house continued to be operated as a saloon and later as a resort with rustic cottages and tent cabins.
From the early 1900s to the 1930s seems to have been a tumultuous time at the Toll House. The ownership and management of the business changed many times, sometimes multiple times in a year. Each time the liquor license had to also be transferred until in 1915, the transfer to Florence Ruth Silbery for the re-named “Big Trees Entrée” (a name that did not stick) was denied. However, that did not stop her and in September of that year she was arrested, and charged with selling liquor without a license, for which she paid a $50 fine.
In 1924, during prohibition the Toll House, now a café, was raided by federal officers, a quantity of liquor was seized and Joe Shaska and Harry Lusk were arrested and taken to San Francisco for violation of the prohibition laws. Lusk was acquitted but Shaska did plead guilty to one count of possession of intoxicants; he was fined $500.
The ownership of the café passed to Mr. and Mrs. E. Emlay who specialty was real Spanish dishes. It was Toll House owner W. H. Nidever, who in 1932 erected 10 rustic two room cottages with garages, to create the Toll House Resort. By 1952, there were 14 units. In 1963, cabin no.1, the first cabin to be built, burned to the ground. The old rustic cabins have since been replaced by new cabins but on the original sites.
There have been many locally renowned operators of the resort, George Featherston and Otto Holm to name just two. And others from further afield. In 1935, it was known as Lloyd’s Toll House Resort operated by Lloyd Boyea, son of prior owner Oliver Boyea, whose wife, Leonie, was reputedly a better shot that most men!
Over the years as a resort, visitors have returned time and time again often requesting their favorite cabin. Was the resort ever a brothel? We may never know. Certainly long time residents of the area believe so.
As the gateway to Big Trees the resort was ideally located. The private road that led to Big Trees adjacent to the resort was owned by the F. A. Hihn Company. Visitors would ford the San Lorenzo River from the west to the east bank to enter the Big Tree Grove. When, in 1933, the new north entrance to the park was completed, this south entrance was closed. This must have affected business at the resort.
It was 1952-1978 owners Wilbur and Anabelle Oliver that put a false front on the Toll House building to modernize it. This has since been removed. The property was subsequently marketed as an investment property and just before the 1989 earthquake the property was purchased by current owners Larry and Trey Noon of Blackburn and Noon Property Management.
Later that year the Toll House housed an antique store, owned by Bill Castor and managed by Sharon Phillips. The store closed just two years late in 1991.
The Toll House or Toll House Resort Motel was designated a California Historical Resource in 1993 as a Point of Historical Interest.
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