Davenport, California


Davenport is a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, California. It is also referred to as a hamlet or town. In the greater region north of the city of Santa Cruz, the areas of Davenport, Bonny Doon, and Swanton are comparable and proximal. Davenport sits at an average elevation of 177 feet. As of 2023, the town’s population stands at 537.

Overview

Davenport lies along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, situated about 9 miles north of Santa Cruz, on Highway One. Originally on the banks of San Vicente Creek, the town expanded to the north during the twentieth century.
The town is notable for its scenery, with numerous bluffs and cliff faces stretching along its perimeter, as well as foothills and forests toward its east. Davenport Beach and the coastline in its periphery are prominent sites for surfers and tourists. Agriculture and aquaculture are prevalent, with farms cultivating varieties of fresh produce and seafood harvests. The remains of a closed cement plant, last operated by Cemex in 2010, lie just north of the small concentration of homes in Davenport.

History

A whaling captain named John Pope Davenport settled at, about half a mile from today's town, in 1867. Davenport built a 400-foot wharf at the mouth of Agua Puerca Creek. This wharf was built to load the lumber brought down from the hills for shipment to Santa Cruz. A small village grew up around the port and was known as Davenport Landing. The local post office began operations in 1874, but was known only as Davenport. Agua Puerca Creek lived up to its name by bringing down so much mud that the port filled up and steamers could not tie up to the wharf to load lumber. A small extension did not solve the problem. Then a competitor built a longer wharf, but it was destroyed in a storm. Captain Davenport went bankrupt and moved to Santa Cruz. The post office in Davenport Landing closed in 1889.
When Captain Davenport went bankrupt, his assets were auctioned off to pay creditors. Among the items auctioned off were whaling items leading to speculation that he carried out whaling activities from the port, especially after he started losing money. However, no eyewitness reports of whaling activities at Davenport Landing have been found.
In 1905, an east coast businessman named William Dingee bought the Santa Cruz Lime Company, which had a lime quarry on the banks of San Vicente Creek, south of Davenport Landing. In the following year, the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Company manufacturing plant was built nearby. At that time, the closed Davenport Landing post office opened up in the settlement that grew up around the cement plant. It again only used the name of Davenport; hence, the name of the town.
Davenport has three restaurants, a hotel, two art galleries, a store, a post office, and Pacific School, the only school in the Pacific Elementary School District.
The ZIP Code is 95017 and the community is inside area code 831.

Points of interest

Cotoni Coast Dairies
Deriving its namesake from the Cotoni tribe of the Ohlone indigenous community, the Cotoni Coast Dairies are a series of trails federally operated by the Bureau of Land Management. Constructed from 2021 to 2025 by the Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship, the hiking and biking trails wind through a combination of natural ecosystems and grazing land. Forests of coastal redwoods, oak woodlands, and grasslands provide habitats for many California species.
;American Abalone
Davenport is home to American Abalone, which produces farm-raised California red abalone. California farm-raised abalone has been selected by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sea Watch program as an excellent choice for environmentally conscious seafood consumers.
;Cement Plant and San Vicente Redwoods
The cement plant was built in 1906 and operated as the Santa Cruz Portland Cement Company. In subsequent years, it was operated by Pacific Cement and Aggregates, Lone Star Cement Corporation, and RMC Pacific Materials. In 2005, the plant was acquired by Mexico's CEMEX corporation. That same year, the plant was reported to have emitted 100 pounds of mercury. The presence of high levels of chromium-6, purported to be a cancer-causing chemical, led to strained relationships between CEMEX, the Environmental Protection Agency, and County of Santa Cruz.
CEMEX ceased operations and decommissioned the plant in 2010. The 8500-acre parcel is now referred to as the San Vicente Redwoods. The San Vicente Redwoods is the largest privately held redwood forest in the Santa Cruz Mountains, constituting 8,532 acres itself and linking 27,000 acres of protected land.
Davenport Tide Pools
Davenport is home to numerous tide pools along its coastline. Rugged cliffs and rocky shoreline reveals a vaste biodiversity at low tide. Sea anemones, starfish, crabs, mussels, and colorful seaweed can be found in shallow pools carved into the rocks.
Davenport Jail
Davenport Jail is an inactive facility with two cells, built in 1914. Until its decommissioning in 1936, the jail was used twice. Today it is a museum featuring coastal history supported by volunteers from the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History.
;Saint Vincent DePaul Church
St. Vincent DePaul Church, in Davenport, was built entirely of cement from the local cement factory in 1914. The Church is the subject of a famous photograph by Ansel Adams.
;Southern Pacific Freight Line
The southern portion of the Ocean Shore Railroad operated between Davenport and Santa Cruz from 1907 to 1920. The Southern Pacific freight line between the two communities is still in place.

Geography

Davenport lies at.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 2.8 square miles. Davenport has topographic variance, with beaches at sea level and foothills reaching up to 1000 feet in elevation at its border. The headwaters of the San Vicente Creek start from these foothills, flowing down to the ocean.
The town is located approximately 8.8 miles south of the San Mateo County border, specifically from the Ano Nuevo State Marine Conservation Area. To the direct north is the unincorporated community of Swanton; the California Polytechnic University of San Luis Obispo manages a ranch in this community, known as the Swanton Pacific Ranch. Immediately east of the town are the Santa Cruz Mountains and the neighboring community of Bonny Doon. Big Basin State Park, an area heavily affected by fires, is located approximately 7 miles northeast of the town.
Davenport is situated amongst fault lines; the San Gregorio Fault lies westward, submerged in the Pacific Ocean, while the San Andreas Fault stretches east of the town. The town is part of the greater Monterey Bay-Tularcitos fault zone, a complex system of strike-slip faults.

Geology

Due to surrounding faults, the town is currently in a gradual shift northward, culminating in the bluffs, cliffs, and other geological features of the region. The coastal landscape features various rock formations, including marine terraces, which can be traced back to the Purisima Formation. This formation contains sediments deposited from the latest Miocene to the late Pliocene.
The geology of the beach bluffs and cliffs consists of mudstone, siltstone, and sandstone. The rock layers and bluffs are constantly weathered by oceanic erosion, as well as activities of the various industries and residential areas along the coast.

Climate

Davenport has mild weather throughout the year, enjoying a Mediterranean climate characterized by cool, wet winters and warm, mostly dry summers. Due to its proximity to Monterey Bay, fog and low overcast are common during the night and morning hours, especially in the summer.

Climate change

Climate change has caused major shifts in Davenport, including surging sea levels, wildfires, poorer air quality, and land erosion. The trapping of greenhouse gases causes climate change: carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and methane, trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere due to longwave radiation. This process, known as the greenhouse effect, was discovered by John Tyndall who identified the greenhouse gases responsible. To combat this, the county of Santa Cruz implemented 2022 Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. This plan aimed to mitigate climate change through various policies and strategies to reduce emissions. The plan involves a breakdown of the greenhouse gases responsible, setting goals for reducing these emissions, and identifying strategies to meet those goals. There is a 98% calculated risk of a flood of at least 3 feet that could occur between the present day and 2050 in Davenport.
Santa Cruz is a forerunner of Central Coast Community Energy, a movement created by an agency that spans local communities and Southern California. The movement focuses on developing and delivering clean, renewable energy while making it billable. This acts as another incentive to reduce emissions, posing fewer threats to the environment.

Ecology

Biodiversity in and around Davenport is expansive and varied. Marine mammals include sea lions, harbor seals, and common bottlenose dolphins. Organisms such as Ochre Sea Stars and Giant Green Anemones populate the many tide pools. Aviary biodiversity includes the Western gull, Surf Scoter, Say's Phoebe, and Western Palm Warbler.
Due to a high concentration of residential and agricultural entities, many instances of introduced or invasive flora can be seen, amidst native species such as California Sagebrush , Monterey Cyprus, and Seaside Daisy . An infamous invasive plant is the Tasmanian Blue Gum. Cosmopolitan species, and other anthropogenic introductions, include the Sweet Alyssum, Red Valerian , and Buck's-horn Plantain.
Climate change and other environmental degradation continues to affect the ecosystems of Davenport and other coastal California habitat. Animals found in the foothills, forests, and grasslands of the region include the Mountain Lion, Pacific Chorus Frog, and the Anise Swallowtail '' butterfly.
An extensive list of organisms can be found on the Davenport iNaturalist page.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Davenport had a population of 388. The population density was. The racial makeup of Davenport was 243 White, 3 African American, 13 Native American, 3 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 53 from other races, and 73 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 152 persons.
The census reported that 92.5% of the population lived in households, 7.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized.
There were 121 households, out of which 29 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 54 were married-couple households, 12 were cohabiting couple households, 22 had a female householder with no partner present, and 33 had a male householder with no partner present. 30 households were one person, and 20 were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.97. There were 72 families.
The age distribution was 98 people under the age of 18, 25 people aged 18 to 24, 92 people aged 25 to 44, 108 people aged 45 to 64, and 65 people who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 40.7years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males.
There were 140 housing units at an average density of, of which 121 were occupied. Of these, 76 were owner-occupied, and 45 were occupied by renters.

Notable people