Capitola History
Capitola’s modern history dates back to the era of Mexican land grants, to the time of the Sequel Rancho, granted to Martina Castro in 1833. Two decades later, a portion of the rancho was purchased from the Castro family by Frederick Hihn, a German immigrant and entrepreneur who would eventually become Santa Cruz County’s first millionaire. In 1857, Hihn built a wharf at what was called Soquel Landing and set about developing the local fishing industry.
Early Capitola was slow to develop, subsisting on fishing and shipping until two key developments — the first road built to cross the Santa Cruz Mountains and Hihn’s own Santa Cruz Railway — began to define the fledgling town as a tourist destination. This characterization expanded in 1869, when Soquel founder Samuel A. Hall, who’d leased land from Hihn, opened “Camp Capitola.” Legend has it that this campground was named by Hall’s daughter, who was inspired by Capitola LeNoir, a fictional character from the 1859 novel, “The Hidden Hand”. Completion of Hihn’s Santa Cruz-Watsonville rail line in 1876 cemented Capitola’s fate.
Capitola’s fortunes took a huge leap in 1894 with the opening of the Grand Capitola Hotel, an impressive, 160-room inn perched at the beach’s edge. The town became known as “Capitola-by-the-Sea,” a resort whose founders hurried to build infrastructures such as its distinct beach cottages and Victorians, to encourage the town’s growth and a burgeoning reputation as a tourist destination.
The new boomtown required more than visitor dollars to thrive. Other early industries like fishing, shipping, and agriculture remained popular. Some of Capitola’s southern neighborhoods are built over what were fields of sugar beets bound for Adolph Spreckels’ refinery in nearby Aptos.
Capitola’s residential growth came six years after Frederick Hihn’s passing in 1913. Henry Allen Rispin, a “capitalist from San Francisco and Denver,” purchased most of Capitola, including the Capitola Hotel and 130 lots on Depot Hill. Armed with more ambition than funds, Rispin dreamed big. Among his plans for the town were a golf course, a movie theater, and a bowling alley, all of which ultimately failed. Before going bust, he managed to build the Capitola Venetian and an extraordinary mansion that still stands today. By 1929, Rispin had sold his holdings to Benjamin Hays Smith, who subdivided and began selling lots to builders. Two decades later, in the wake of efforts to merge Capitola with Soquel, Capitola was incorporated on January 4, 1949.
