The Apple Orchards of Santa Cruz County

In 1859, Stephen G. Martinelli, a young Swiss, settled in the temperate and fertile Pajaro Valley near Monterey Bay, where the apples were of exceptional quality.

In 1868 he founded S. Martinelli & Company, producing bottle fermented Champagne Cider with apples from California’s first commercial orchards. Martinelli’s Cider soon became well known as the finest available.

A wave of emigration from Europe’s Serbo-Croatian community to the Pajaro Valley began in 1870 and continued briskly from 1884 to 1914. There were just 250 acres of apple orchards in the Pajaro Valley in 1871 when Marco Rabasa planted the first Serbo-Croatian orchard. A devastating outbreak in 1873 of codling moth and scale in the orchards of Santa Clara Valley caused a boom for the Pajaro Valley apples.

In 1883, Nick Branac and 18-year-old Luke Scurich started one of the valley’s first fruit packing companies. Scurich was joined by brother Steven in 1884, and planted a 100-acre orchard. Rabasa and L.G. Sresovich established the valley’s first large- scale apple packing, shipping and buying enterprise.

In 1890 Martinelli’s Cider was awarded the first prize gold medal at the California State Fair, leading to the adoption of the brand trade mark, “Martinelli’s Gold Medal^®.”

By the late 1890s the same railroad that carried redwood lumber from the Santa Cruz Mountains to the far corners of the country now began carrying railroad cars filled with apples from the Pajaro Valley.

In 1895 the following companies were growing, picking, packing and shipping apples in the Pajaro Valley: M. Rabasa, M.N. Lettunich & Co., Scurich Bros., N. Banaz, F.P. Marinovich, J.L. Ivancovich & Co., M. Rilovich & Ro., Puhiera & Strasicich, Gravosa Fruit Co., J.P. Miovich, M. Gerkovich, A.W. Condit & Co., Prettyman & Wolf, and M.L. Woody.

Shipments that year (1895) went to destinations such as Denver CO, Butte MT, Dallas TX, Chicago IL, New York City and London England

By the boom year of 1908, apple orchards numbered a million trees on 14,000 acres, the town had 40 packing sheds, including apple driers and vinegar plants. At 2 1/2 million boxes of apples in 1909, the Pajaro Valley was producing and shipping more apples than any area in the world.

In honor of the apple, the Annual Apple Exhibition was first held in 1909 reaching its peak with 30,000 people attending its many events in 1912. With the onset of WWI interest waned and the exhibition became history.

During prohibition (1920-1933), the Martinelli Company grew by specializing in non-alcoholic apple juice products, including the first non-alcoholic sparkling cider.

Today, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries and Olallieberries have replaced apples where many of the orchards once grew. However, there are still places to buy Pippin, Granny Smith and Jonagold apples grown in the Pajaro Valley… and there still is the faint smell of apple blossoms in the air each spring.