Sargent's Station
Transcribed by Carolyn Feroben
from Sunshine Fruit and Flowers-Santa Clara County and its Resources-San Jose Mercury, 1896.

The Great Picnic Resort on the Pajaro, and its Attractions.  Hunting, Boating and Fishing.  Stock-raising.  Farming and Cheese-Making.  Brea Deposits and Mineral Springs.

Sargent's is most beautifully located in a grove of oaks, upon the banks of the softly-flowing Pajaro.  It is a place of much natural beauty, as the banks of the river are covered with alders and willows, and the scenery along the river is charming.  The hotel has been surrounded with ornamental trees, and the grounds are provided with platforms and rural seats.  It has thus become a prominent picnic resort, merry parties gathering there in the summer season from every direction  Bicycle and other clubs often hold annual meets here, of which barbecues are usual features.

THE HUNTERS PARADISE

It is also a great gathering point for hunters, parties from San Francisco, San Jose and other points meeting here for annual outings.  The wooded canyons are full of quail and pigeons, and the deer are yet quite plentiful in the adjacent mountains.  Wildcats, coons and coyotes are plentiful, as well as smaller game.  The river teems with catfish and other varieties and salmon comes up the river from the ocean in the spawning season.

ENTERPRISES AND RESOURCES

The village in comparatively small, containing only a depot, express office postoffice, a hotel, kept by Alexander Graham, and a livery stable.  Yet there is considerable travel, and it is the shipping point for an extensive territory.  There are a number of large dairies in the vicinity, and cheese forms one of the principal exports.  There are several large cattle ranches in the vicinity, notably those of Henry Miller and J. P. Sargent.  Considerable grain is shipped from Sargents, and at times the shipments of brea are important.  The brea deposits on the farm of J. P. Sargent, three miles from the station , are extensive.  The demand for asphaltum for street paving will no doubt result in the upbuilding here of an important enterprise, Sargents is the shipping point for San Juan and the contiguous territory in San Benito County.  Much travel center here, as the long bridge which spans the Pajaro for many miles is located here.

LEGENDS AND LECTURES

A state runs between Sargents and San Juan, making several trips a day.  It is driven by the veteran Mark Regan, who was one of the drivers on the old overland in early days, and who has been driving here seventeen years.  He has an inexhaustible store of the legends concerning the people who lived here in territorial days, and tells them in a remarkably entertaining manner.  One of the features of a trip to the Mission at San Juan is the historical and descriptive lecture given by the gifted Regan.

THOROUGHBRED HORSES AND CATTLE

Some very fine stock is owned in the vicinity. Upon the Sargent farm there is a fine heard of Durhams, and included in the Sargent  string of horses ithe Nutwood stallion Sevenoaks, whose sire was sold for $23, 000; also Jim Mulvaney, with a record of  of 2:19 1/4.  Mr. Sargent also has some fancy-bred Berkshire and Poland hogs.  Four miles from Sargents Staton, upon land belonging to Mr, Sargent, is a white sulphur spring, which is largely resorted  to in summer by camping parties.  It is a very attractive resort, in a deep, wooded canyon,  where the scenery is uplifiting.

The Pajaro  is the dividing line between Santa Clara and San Benito  Counties, and is spanned at Sargents by a handsome bridge.  The river at this point flows very gently, and the overhanging trees and windings of  the river make the river scenery very beautiful.   The river can be navigated with row bots a distance of two miles below the station, and this feature is an attractive one to the campers.  Fish are usually very plentiful , as the stream flows into the ocean, and the supply of certain varieties is inexhaustible.  There is more game in the vicinity than in any other portion of the county that is easily accessible, and parties frequently come from a distance to hunt coyotes, kill quail, deer, and other game larger and smaller.   The Pajaro River is fed by Carnadero Creek, San Benito, the Uvas and Llags, and empties into the bay of Monterey at a point near the town of Watsonville.

PRODUCE AND SHIPMENTS

The shipments from Sargents consist pricipally of hay, grain, fruit, cheese, butter and eggs.  The shipments for the year ending July 1, 1895, were:  Hay,  1, 302,500 pounds; grain, 852,300; fruit,  809,200; cheese, 139,200; butter, 93,900; eggs, 77,400; poultry,  24,500; and miscellaneous, 136,600, making a total of 3,435,300 pounds.

SARGENT's JURISTAC RANCHO

One of the larges stock ranges in the county is that known as the Juristac Rancho, consisting of abnout 10,000 acres, and located in the extreme southwestern portion of the county.  The proprietor, Hon. J. P. Sargent, is widely known, as he came to California in 1849.  In that year in company with three brothers he established a store in Weavertown, El Dorado County.  In 1850 they commenced to  purchase stock, and in 1851 closed out their store and turned their attention to stock-raising.  In 1853 Mr. Sargent came to Santa Clara County, and in 1850 [trans. note- other references state the Rancho was purchased in 1856] purchased the Juristac Rancho, where he has since resided.  He has retired from active business life, having placed the management of his interest in the hands of his sons.  Upon his range he kept about 1,200 graded cattle.  He has alwasy been a an ardent admirer of good stock, and as early  as 1862 purchased some Durham or Shorthorn cattle with which  to improve his herds.  He purchased some finely-bred horses, also, and now owns Seven Oaks and Jim Mulvaney, the record  of the latter being 2:19 1/4.  He owns also some fine Berkshire and Poland  China hogs.  Mr. Sartent;s sons inherit their father's love for stock in a marked degree.  In addition to other animals, James Sargent owns some thoroughbred fox terriers, which were awarded the first prize at the Los Angeles bench show, and second prize in San Franicsco.

James Sargent carries on a dairy, where about 206 head of cows are milked.  The output of the cheese factory is about seventeen flats a day, of twenty-five pounds each.  J. P. Sargent was elected by the Repulblicans in 1872 to represent his district in the Legislature.  During the past few yeras he has lived very quietly upon his farm, enjoying the fortune which he years ago accumulated.  Mr. Sargent married, November 4, 1864, MIss Agnes Bowie, of San Juan.  Recently bereavement came upon them and death took from them their son, Ross, a most estimable young man.