The cache is
across the river from Rowardennan and accessed from there, not from
the fountain; but If you decide to park at the fountain to look it
over (coordinates: N 37º05.159 W 122º 05.370) YOU MUST BE CAREFUL
AS IT IS ON A BEND IN THE ROAD AND PEOPLE DRIVE HIGHWAY 9 WAY TOO
FAST! WHEN YOU LEAVE GO TOWARD BEN LOMOND AND TURN AROUND THERE; DO
NOT TRY TO CROSS THE ROAD AT THIS POINT.
(This is the sixth 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 the late 19th Century during the heyday of redwood logging in
the San Lorenzo Valley, lumberman James Pierce, co-founder of the
town of Ben Lomond in 1887, deliberately left groves and corridors
among his logging operations to enhance his plans to develop the
land for tourism after his logging operations were completed.
In 1895 Thomas Bell, Ben Lomond’s post master, bought 300
acres of Pierce's forest between Highlands Park and the Ben Lomond
Bridge and built a resort which he called Rowardennan Redwood
Park.
Now remember that in those days, anybody who was anybody in the Bay
Area would spend several weeks each summer vacationing in the Santa
Cruz Mountains, many vacationers eventually buying land and
building summer homes usually along the creeks and among the
redwoods.
Bell’s resort was one of the finest. He chose a Scottish name
for his resort since Scottish names were so prevalent in these
mountains. The name he chose, Rowardennan (pronounced
"Row-ar-DEN-nan" or "Ro WAR den an" by the locals) combines the
name of an enchanted Scottish flower (the Rowan, which drives off
evil spirits) with a derivation of the Celtic arduos, or ardeuenna,
for "high woodland," to mean "enchanted forest." The name comes
from that of the 300-year-old Rowardennan Hotel situated on the
eastern banks of Scotland's Loch Lomond where the legendary outlaw
Rob Roy once roamed. Scotland's Rowardennan Hotel has magnificent
views of Ben Lomond thus providing an appropriate name for Bell's
resort situated at the foot of California's Ben Lomond
Mountain.
Bell built his resort to give the city folk a true wilderness
experience. Visitors could rent horses and equipment for camping in
the woods or touring his network of trails. Rowardennan Hotel had
150 rooms housed in 16 cabins, the main lodge contained the lobby
and 200-seat dining hall and the ballroom was in a separate
lodge.
Bell used natural materials in his architecture; redwood and oak in
their natural colors, river rock fireplaces and foundations, and
redwood shingles (redwood shingles then cost only $5 for 10,000!).
The log cabins had log porches, shingle roofs and rails and
spandrels of fancy log grills.
The hotel grounds were surrounded on three sides by the river and
contained croquet and tennis courts, and a river trail named
Lover's Lane which led to a boating and swimming pond whose dam
generated electricity for the hotel. This was before electricity
was available to the general public.
The Rowardennan Hotel was sold separately in the late 1920s, and
renamed Ben Lomond Lodge. After it burned down in 1932 the remains
of the 300-acre park were subdivided for housing.
Now all that is left of Rowardennan is its fountain and a
song:
"Magic enchants Rowardennan,
Here, where the moonlight
Gets caught in the trees,
And a river of stars
Flows out to the seas,
And echoes this haunting
Refrain in the breeze,
that Magic enchants Rowardennan ... "
The other Caledonian Caches include:
My Heart's in Highlands Park: Caledonian Caches #1 GC1H4BR
The Road to Alba: Caledonian Caches #2 GC1H4C4
The Road to Bonny Doon: Caledonian Caches #3 GC1H4CD
The Kirking o’ the Tartans: Caledonian Caches #4
GC1HARB
Rob Roy Junction: Caledonian Caches #5 GC1HCVN
