Stations: Call of the Wild

The meadows and forested areas along upper Los Gatos Creek were considered by many to be some of the most picturesque lands in all of California. The fact that the South Pacific Coast Railroad decided to build its route through these lands made them only more popular. Two decades after Forest Grove and Eva had been founded 0.3 miles to the north and a five years after the San Francisco Earthquake, a new mountain retreat emerged on the east bank of Los Gatos Creek at its confluence with a seasonal stream, located one mile north of Wright's Station.

Boys hiking past Call of the Wild station, c. 1910s. [Gil Pennington]

Around 140 acres of this area had been purchased by Harry Ryan in 1906. Ryan was a frequent attendee of Josephine McCrackin's Monte Paraiso off Summit Road. McCrackin had served as a reporter for decades and advocated for the preservation of old growth redwood groves such as those at Big Basin and Big Trees. Visitors to her home included the photographer Andrew P. Hill, famous authors such as Ambrose Bierce, Samuel Clemons, and Bret Harte, and other late nineteenth century luminaries of the Wild West. Another friend of McCrackin's was Jack London, who visited Los Gatos on occasion and may have come to McCrackin's home at some point before it burned down. Ryan and London were good friends and London wrote his book, The Call of the Wild, in Ryan's San José office. When Ryan purchased his property, he asked London for permission to call the retreat "Call of the Wild Ranch and Sawmill," after the book and London agreed.

Call of the Wild station structure, c. 1910s. [Beal, Highway 17]

Second growth redwoods at
Call of the Wild, c. 1910s.
[Los Gatos Public Library]

Call of the Wild quickly became a seasonal residential subdivision, much like those located throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains. A small sulphur spring was discovered on the property and became an advertising draw for prospective buyers. As people began moving into the subdivision, Ryan renamed the property "Call of the Wild Summer Resort & Subdivision." In 1926, he built a large ranch house on the property for his own private use, and other amenities likely accompanied it.

The residential area was not directly along the Southern Pacific Railroad's right-of-way. In fact, it was across Los Gatos Creek and nearly half-a-mile away up a hillside. But the marketing potential of having a train stop for the subdivision was too high and the railroad granted Ryan a flag-stop in summer 1911. In March 1912, Ryan completed construction of a small station shelter for visitors to the area. It was designed to appear as a rustic log cabin to match the theme of the resort. Somewhat unusually, an American flag was used as the signalling flag to notify passing trains that a passenger wished to board. Around this time, the railroad installed a passing siding so that excursion trains could drop off passengers without impeding traffic. This may have also been used by Ryan for the portions of his property that he retained as a ranch, but no evidence suggests the stop was used for freight purposes. The county road to Wright and the Summit passed immediately beside the station.

Call of the Wild station structure in disrepair after it was abandoned, July 9, 1939. [Wilbur C. Whittaker]

Call of the Wild as a stop survived until the end of the railroad line in February 1940. Tracks in the area were damaged by the winter storm. Few people used the stop, however, especially after the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s. The station structure was abandoned in June 1933 and fell into disrepair. The siding may have been removed at this time or slightly earlier, but it was certainly gone by 1939. Only around forty people lived in the area at the time the branch line closed, suggesting Ryan's subdivision mostly failed and upper Los Gatos Creek remained largely unpopulated, as it is today. The San Jose Water Company purchased the Call of the Wild station site around 1936 but did not demolish the station structure until after the line was abandoned. Ryan died in 1958 and the remaining portions of his property were parcelled off. His ranch house was converted into a family residence within the subdivision and still survives today.

Geo-Coordinates & Access Rights:
37.151˚N, 121.959˚W

The site of Call of the Wild is visible just beyond a fence owned by the San Jose Water Company near the southern end of the drivable portion of Aldercroft Heights Road. Nothing survives of the station except a clearing and trespassing is not advised. The original trail that crossed Los Gatos Creek and travelled up to the subdivision is now lost. The subdivision itself still survives in a reduced state on Call of the Wild Road off the Old Santa Cruz Highway. The heart of the old community is at the end of Pineridge Way along Highland Way and Loma Prieta Way. The former path to the station is a largely-undefined property off Call of the Wild Road just before the turn for Pineridge Way.

The site of Call of the Wild, at right, along the former Southern Pacific right-of-way, May 2014. [Derek R. Whaley]

Citations & Credits:

• Beal, Richard A. Highway 17: The Road to Santa Cruz. Pacific Group, 1991.
• Hamman, Rick. California Central Coast Railways. Second edition. Santa Cruz, CA: Otter B Books, 2002.
• Whaley, Derek R. Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz, CA, 2015.