It's been awhile since my last post, so I ask myself, "What have you been doing?" In the course of my research on the bituminous rock industry of late 19th century Santa Cruz County, I encountered the Majors family, owners of one of the north coast properties containing substantial bituminous rock deposits. It turns out that Joseph L. Majors, the first of his family to come to this area, was a compatriot of Isaac Graham - namesake of Graham Hill Road. While the record is scanty regarding Majors, Graham had quite a life before he got here. Learning more about Graham led me to study the brief history of 'Alta California', after Mexican independence from Spain and before the Mexican-American War of 1846-8. I've been reading Bancroft's History of the Pacific States, which can be read online or downloaded.
Another historical distraction has been Wikipedia. Creating and editing WP articles is interesting and educational. Considering that WP articles come up near the top of most web searches, it's scary how much wrong information there is. An army of diligent editors aim to improve that situation. Some of the articles I've worked on relate to Santa Cruz history, including the above-mentioned Isaac Graham, which needs expansion from its present puny state.
