The story
Own a piece of Aptos and Santa Cruz County history. Originally part of the broader Castro Rancho Aptos granted in 1833, the Castro family holdings passed in the 1870s to Claus Spreckels, the San Francisco sugar magnate who purchased the majority of Rancho Aptos beginning in 1872. In 1944, the property was acquired by the current family. The main residence reflects the Storybook (or Provincial Revival) cottage idiom that flourished in Northern California from the late 1920s into the 1930shighlighted by its steeply pitched, irregular gable roofline and original sculptural, monogrammed brick chimneys, a hallmark of the style. Built entirely of local redwood milled from the surrounding Santa Cruz Mountain forests that fueled the region's early lumber boom, the home is set among pastures and second-growth redwoods that evoke its ranching heritage. This large, elegant residence includes 2 additional units and sits on a spacious 179 acres, featuring approximately 70 acres of grasslands with the balance in a protected Timber Preserve.
