I
n addition to the inventory information there should be
a few great little stories about some of the researched
sites. Here is a sampling of a few of those gems.
Hecker Pass
Henry Hecker relocated to Gilroy from Marion, Ohio in
1883, and quickly established himself as a successful
member of the community. Hecker owned a successful
local grocery business. He served both as the Treasurer of
Gilroy and the President of the Bank of Gilroy. From 1916
to 1945 he served on the Board of Supervisors for Santa
Clara County. Hecker was influential in the completion
of many infrastructure projects in Santa Clara County,
including the 1928 construction of a road connecting
Gilroy to Watsonville, Hecker Pass.
Deodar Cedar Trees on Hecker Pass
On Arbor Day 1930, prompted by a statewide focus on
town beautification, the Gilroy Rotary planted a row of 75
Deodar cedar trees along Hecker Pass with the assistance
of local school children and helpful citizens, the Elks, the
American Legion Auxiliary, the Boy Scouts, and the Camp
Fire Girls. Another 65 cedars were added to the row on
Arbor Day the following year. This row of “Living Christmas
Trees” was placed on the National Register of Historic
Places in 2007.
BeGe Manufacturing Builds Employee Homes
The City of Gilroy website for the Historic Resource
Inventory states that the final reports will include:
• Discussion of survey methodology
• Regulatory setting, including relevant
planning documents
• Survey results, including findings of significance
• Survey maps and photographs
• Abbreviated tables with findings for eligible
and ineligible properties
•
DPR 523 Forms for all properties surveyed (DPR
523 forms are State of California Department of
Parks & Recreation papers used to identify
historic resources)
• An electronic HRI database that includes all
data captured as part of the survey
We look forward to the final documents scheduled for
release to the City of Gilroy in the fall of 2019.
A small company called BeGe Manufacturing & Welding
Co. was formed in 1932 when farmer Albert Gurries so-
licited blacksmith James Bussert to create a prototype of a
land-leveling scraper and hydraulic pump control unit that
could be affixed to a tractor. The name of their new compa-
ny came from the first letter of their last names followed by
an ‘e’, forming BeGe. Their product was a hit, and BeGe
expanded operations to larger buildingS on Monterey
Road. Despite the economic hardships of the Depression,
BeGe continued. By the end of World War II over 4,000
people were working at BeGe. With a severe shortage of
housing, Gurries built apartments and 50 housing units for
his employees. Some of these modest homes are still in use
along Gurries Drive.
Roads in Gilroy
After New Gilroy formally became the town of Gilroy
in 1868, roads in and around Gilroy also generally
improved. The former El Camino Real, now simply the
San José-Monterey Road, enjoyed a short life as a toll road
before being declared a free highway in 1874. The roads
in the city itself were set to determined widths, set forth in
the 1868 charter, which determined the official width of
Monterey Road (86 feet wide), side streets (75 feet wide),
crossroads (66 feet wide), and their sidewalks (14 feet on
Monterey and 10 feet on remaining streets).
For more information: https://yourvoice.cityofgilroy.
org/citywide-historic-resource-inventory-update.