Soquel Pioneer Historical Association

About the Pioneers

Organized in 1939, Soquel Pioneer and Historical Association is a community organization that sponsors an annual picnic each July to commemorate the town’s history and its role in the development of Santa Cruz County. There are no membership restrictions.

Everyone interested in sharing and preserving Soquel history is invited to participate in the annual picnic celebration that keeps the past alive.

We also maintain a History Room at the Porter Memorial Library on Porter Street. The room is open to anyone who wants to explore Soquel history through displays. books and scrapbooks.

Contact Us

Click here to order the book
Images of America
Soquel

The Soquel Pioneer and Historical Association committee worked four years to create a history of Soquel. The long-awaited book is part of the Arcadia Publishing Company Images of America Series. It may be obtained for a donation of $22 at the Soquel Porter Memorial Library.

The book includes many of the pictures archived in the Pioneers library. As a gift to Soquel, Stan Stevens, Librarian Emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz, compiled an index that is now available for the cost of printing, $3. with the book purchase.

Library hours are 12 to 4 P.M. Monday through Friday and 10 to 2 on Saturday

Millstones on the Move

Recently the historic Martina Castro family millstones were moved from the Pringle Grove picnic area to the entrance to the grove. They weigh over a thousand pounds, so this was no small feat! Our sincere thanks to Shan Gilmore for building the pedestal to display the stones and to Soquel Nursery Growers for carefully moving them. Now the attendees each year to the Soquel Pioneers Picnic can better enjoy and appreciate these reminders of our rich heritage.

88th Annual Pioneers Picnic July 25, 2026
Join us for music, food, displays of historical photographs, a raffle, and visits with old friends at the 2026 picnic on July 25. Former Capitola Museum curator Frank Perry will give a short talk on the region's railroad history in honor of the 150th anniversary of the Santa Cruz Railroad. The event is a potluck and starts at 11:30 a.m. at Pringle Grove in Soquel. Follow the signs.

Members of the Pioneers Board of Directors at the 2025 picnic pose with the historic Martina Castro millstones.

Cemetery Tour
On June 14, 2025, The Pioneers hosted a walking tour of the historic Soquel Cemetery. Following a presentation on cemetery history, participants learned about some of the people buried there. We visited the graves of Joel Bates (for whom Bates Creek was named), Francis Rabel (an early-day tanner), Nora Angell (school teacher and early 1900s community activist), and four others.