Whatever Happened to Squabble Hollow?

It was once located in the area of two Mexican Land Grants—Carbonero Rancho and Rancho San Augustine. And it sat between two creeks—Carbonero and Branciforte.  But it was really the tale of two neighbors that gave life to Squabble Hollow.

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The J.H. Brown family and the Webber family lived on opposite sides of the same ridge.  Regrettably, neither could agree on the precise location of the property line between the two homesteads.  They argued, shouted, bickered, squabbled, and more.  The dispute was so severe, that if either party got too close to the disputed territory, the other would pull out their gun and blast pot shots at their neighbor. Hence, the area became known as Squabble Hollow.

The feud went on for years.  J. H. Brown was an author who arrived in California in 1843 and stayed for 40 years.  He published several history books—Early Days of San Francisco, Reminiscences and Incidents of "the Early Days" of San Francisco: An Actual Experience of an Eyewitness, from 1845 to 1850, and Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas.

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There were still bullet holes in the walls when the Webber property was sold in 1902 to a man named John M. Kroenlien who turned the land into a prosperous blackberry farm.  The same site went on to become a successful retirement home called The Mansion in 1987, and it has been a Buddhist meditation center since 2011.

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Several years after the feud was finally settled, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors granted the request of the area residents asking to change the name to Glen Canyon Road. The hamlet of Squabble Hollow no longer existed. The Santa Cruz Historical Society listed the property on the county register of historical places.

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https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2011/06/11/the-mansion-acquired-by-meditation-center/

https://www.amazon.com/John-Henry-Brown/e/B001KCKBTW/ref=aufs_dp_mata_dsk

History of Santa Cruz County, Margarete Koch, pp. 48-49

Santa Cruz Sentinel, Vol 131, Number 203, 28 Aug 1987 p 131