Llagas-Uvas, California

Llagas-Uvas is an unincorporated, census-designated area located in the Santa Cruz mountains in southwest Santa Clara County, California [California_places] . The area covers approximately 102.09 sq miles [BoundaryMap] , much of it Open Space [OpenSpace] , and contains the Uvas and Chesbro reservoirs, as well as the Calero, Uvas Canyon and Mount Madonna county parks. Due to the mild mediterranean microclimate, there are many wineries in the area, including Jason-Stephens, Sycamore Creek, Martin Ranch, Hecker Pass, Fortino, Kirigin, Sarah, and Rancho de Solis. There are also several equestrian centers in the area, including Five Star Farms, Legacy Oaks, Great Strides, Hidden Creek, and Bodfish Creek Ranch. As of the 2000 census [Census] , the population was 3143, of which 84.6% were non-hispanic white, 12.9% hispanic, and 2.5% of other races, with a median age of 41.8 years old. As of 2005, the median income was $94,100 and median home price $1,002,700 [Demographics] .

Other than the community of Sveadal [Sveadal] , most residents and businesses in the area use postal zip codes from neighboring cities of Morgan Hill [MorganHill] , San Martin [SanMartin] , or Gilroy [Gilroy] . The telelphone area code is 408 [SantaClaraCounty] .

History

In spanish, the word "uva" means "grape" and "llaga" means "wound".

During the Mexican land grants of the 19th century, the area was divided into several large ranches.

The region was well known to Indian and European settlers for its abundance of wild grapes. The Uvas Creek was named after the land grant Cañada de las Uvas ("grape ravine"). This creek feeds into the Uvas Reservoir [ValleyWaterHistory] .

A large 22,283 acre ranch in the northern part was named after Las Llagas de Nuestro Padre San Francisco ("the wounds of Our Father Saint Francis"). A major creek that runs through the ranch was named Llagas Creek.

In 1955, the Chesbro Reservoir was formed by damming the Llagas Creek, to ensure adequate water supply for the surrounding farms and growing population of nearby Morgan Hill [SantaClaraCountyParks] .

References

[1] California places: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_places_in_California

[2] Map of area: http://www.zipcodesandmore.com/csd-map.aspx?csdnum=212&state=06

[3] Open Space Council: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bay_Area_Open_Space_Council

[4] US Govt census: http://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/urbanarea/uaoutline/UA2000/ua33328/ua33328_01.pdf

[5] Demographics: http://www.city-data.com/city/Llagas-Uvas-California.html

[6] Sveadal Swedish-American community: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sveadal,_California

[7] Morgan Hill: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Hill,_California

[8] San Martin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Martin,_California

[9] Gilroy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilroy,_California

[10] Santa Clara County: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_County,_California

[11] Valley Water history: http://www.valleywater.org/For_Teachers_and_Students/Teaching_materials/Water_history_teachers_guide/_Name_origin_and_history.shtm

[12] Parks in Santa Clara County: http://www.sccgov.org/portal/site/parks

References