Postcard coutesy of Henri Boussy

Le Chateau Boussy near the Summit was once a popular spot for dining, recreation and rustic accommodations.

Picture from the Past

Old mountain resort was originally settled as ranch

By John S. Baggerly

From his home in Mill Valley, where he resides with his wife, Jean, Henri M. Boussy, a retired high school and college teacher, writes that he was asked to record a history of his father's famed Le Chateau Boussy resort and restaurant near the Summit on the old Santa Cruz two-lane highway. This is where Henri grew up and graduated from Los Gatos High School in 1935.

Henri said by phone that the original residents of the Boussy site were Ohlone Indians, who enjoyed the fairly easy coastal access for fishing and clamming in the Pacific Ocean.

He writes:

Tail Feather Productions of Hollywood asked for pictures of the Chateau to use in a feature they are filming on the Doobie Brothers. This group got their singing start at "Chateau Liberté," as it was known in the 1960s and 70s.

It eventually became a Hell's Angels hangout because of the rock concerts that were held by the "new" pool (built in the '40s) and in the redwood grove that had a band stand and a spectacular setting.

The agent, Glen Goodwin, who came to pick up the photographs, claimed that the main building had burned and the property belonged to some trust in San Jose. He discovered, as we already knew, that it was not accessible to the public, but what its current status or function is neither of us knows.

The site of Chateau Boussy was originally settled as a mountain ranch probably as early as the 1870s. The original building is a handsome gingerbread Victorian, still standing, surrounded entirely by a verandah on which was located a flush toilet. A large stable and barn and several outhouses attest to its agricultural origins.

The property consisted of 70 acres; most of the hillside terrain was in redwood, tanbark and bay forestation. It was operated by a family named Temple as a resort until it was purchased by Ferdinand Boussy [Henri's father] in 1920. Originally called The Hermitage, Boussy renamed it the Grand Bois Tavern in keeping with its new French ambiance. When the Boussy family moved in during 1921, living conditions were fairly primitive--or "rustic," as it was known in those days.

Besides the old mansion building, there was a large dining room structure built entirely of mortised redwood logs, seven shingled cottages, a large lodge house and several tent platforms for summer lodgers. There was no heat in the cottages; lighting was by kerosene lamps, which had to be cleaned every morning.

There was no running water and the only toilet facilities were outhouses. Cooking was done over a wood stove, for which there was plenty of fuel, but it had to be harvested before it could be used. The great amenity was a swimming pool--a great rarity in those days--and an abundance of water.

A small pond accommodated a canoe and a great many frogs. Carbide gas soon replaced the kerosene lamps, and eventually a gasoline-powered generator was installed. An entire water system was put in that consisted of an enclosed reservoir and piping to a pump that forced the water to storage tanks, from which it was distributed to the houses, gardens, barns and pool. Bathrooms were added to all the buildings. Water heaters and wood stoves made them habitable the whole year round. By the 1929 season, the resort was a popular and fashionable place to spend not only summer vacations but also as a place to celebrate New Year's Eve.

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