Jasper Ridge

Dorothy F. Regnery, The History of Jasper Ridge: From Searsville Pioneers to Stanford Scientists , A Stanford Centennial Publication by the Stanford Historical Society (1991), 152 pp.

Notes by J. Clendenin

The Martin family immigrated overland to Alta California in 1844. (9)

Initially Dennis Martin supervised Indians cutting redwoods in Bay area, where he met John Copinger (who had married the heir to Rancho Cañada de Reymundo), from whom he purchased 1500 acres in 1845 (North Ranch, today this is land between San Francisquito Creek and Sand Hill Rd, much of it occupied by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory). (11)

Dennis built a house near the creek, and further north up a slight hill a church (first service in ’55). Both were considered to be what became Searsville. Road from church north to the Mayfield-Searsville Rd (now Sand Hill Rd) was called Church (or sometimes Dennis) Lane. (13)

Martins occupied the ranch winter of ’45-’46, built first water-powered saw mill in ’50, later it was converted to grist mill. (14-17)

Dennis Martin heavily in debt, purchased South Ranch (now partly Webb Ranch) in ’54, and then came the panic of ’55. (21) In 1864 he was evicted from the North Ranch after it was declared to be part of Rancho de las Pulgas*, so Copinger hadn’t the right to sell to Martin. (24)

The Dennis Martin Church was an “out-mission” of Mission Santa Clara. It was the first church between Missions Delores and Santa Clara and initially attended by Protestants as well as Catholics, with about 1/3 being Californios. The last service was in ’71, anticipating the opening of St. Bridget’s (later Church of the Nativity) in Menlo Park in ‘72, but burials continued in the cemetery until ’90. (59)

Dennis Martin died destitute at age 69 in San Francisco. (77)

Stanford acquired Martin’s land in ’83 and raised all the structures in ’99. (60) In 1953 the remaining remains were exhumed and reburied in Holy Cross Cemetery in Menlo Park. (62)

*Boundary disputes dragged on for many years, but the boundary of Rancho de las Pulgas was essentially settled by a survey in 1856. In 1957 a patent was issued by President James Buchanan to widow Arguello to Rancho de las Pulgas for 35,240 acres as delineated by the survey. (23) Based on this patent, all of present day Menlo Park, including Sharon Heights, is within the boundaries of Rancho de las Pulgas.

Last updated 30 November 2013