This is one of a series of Caledonian Caches honoring those settlers of Scots descent who left the heather and the Highlands of Scotland to start anew amongst the ridges and the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
In 1852 John Bums, a Scotsman who settled on top of a mountain near Santa Cruz, Caifornia to grow grapes and make wine, named his mountain after Scotland’s Ben Lomond. In 1887 a committee of citizens of the lumber town of Pacific Mills located at the foot of Ben Lomond, including John’s son, Thomas, changed the town’s name to Ben Lomond.
Built by the Scottish settlers of Ben Lomond in July 1901, the little redwood church, Saint Andrews has long served as a symbol of the San Lorenzo Valley's Scottish heritage.
In 1979, in a ceremony at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, Saint Andrews became a parish. After the Loma Prieta Earthquake of 1989 Saint Andrews contributed over $12,000 into the community and housed people during the disaster, establishing it as a permanent Red Cross disaster center when needed.
One of the most popular events hosted by Saint Andrews is the annual “Kirking o the Tartans” at which parishioners, accompanied by the bagpipes, gather to celebrate the feast day of Saint Andrew. Attendees bring a swatch of family tartan to be blessed at the "Calling of the Clans.”
This is a re-enactment of an age-old practice of wearing a bit of tartan hidden under the clothing that arose in Scotland after the Battle of Culloden, when Highland dress and customs were banished.
While you’re at the church take the time to admire some of the churchyard’s magnificent trees which include an exceptionally large Coast Redwood in front of the church doors, a magnolia and Deodar cedar which grace the side garden, and across the street one of the largest walnut trees you'll ever see!
Caledonian Caches in this series include the following:
The Highland Games: GC6NHG6
The Road to Alba: GC1H4C4
The Kirking o’ the Tartans: GC1HARB
The Rowardennan Fountain II :GC6NDY7
MacGregor Despite Them: GC2H6GG
Howden Castle: GC6NDXN
MacKenzie Creek: GC29D6R
My Heart's in Highlands Park II: GC6NEM1
Bonny Doon: GC4W111
Ben Lomond Lookout Trailhead: GC2K2JZ
The Bonny Doon Bus: GC2H6GG
Loch Lomond: GC6NF0R
Jason Brown & Ben Lomond Mountain GC6NHJ8