Clems, California is a
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
in
Santa Cruz County with an elevation of . It is located a latitude 37055N, longitude 1215947W; decimal degrees: latitude 37.09806, longitude -121.99639.
[Clems (historical), California: Clems (historical), California Latitude and Longitude](_blank)
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Clems was a minor stop located between Glenwood and Zayante on the railroad which operated from Los Gatos
Los Gatos (; ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of t ...
to Santa Cruz from 1880 to 1940. The railroad was leased in 1887 to the Southern Pacific
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the names ...
, which added weekend excursion trains to the regular South Pacific Coast Railroad
The South Pacific Coast Railroad (SPC) was a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow gauge steam railroad running between Santa Cruz, California, and Alameda, California, Alameda, with a ferry connection in Alameda to San Francisco, California, San Franci ...
freight and mixed (freight and passenger) trains that operated several times a day. The tracks, bridges, and tunnels along the line were badly damaged in the April 18, 1906, earthquake, then repaired or rebuilt. The line was standard-gauged in 1907 and a railroad shelter was installed for locals at the time. Southern Pacific formally abandoned the line in November 1940 following a major storm that severely damaged the line on the night of February 26. State Route 17 was completed that same year, bypassing Clems and most of the other stops along the old railroad right-of-way.[U.S. Geological Survey map, 1940]
Today the area is sparsely settled and considered a part of the Glenwood community.
References
Bibliography
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Geography of Santa Cruz County, California
Ghost towns in California
Ghost towns in the San Francisco Bay Area
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