What About Los Gatos' Forbes Mill?

But actually the place has got an interesting bit of history to it.  A little intrigue. A little scandal. And our town was once (briefly) named after it, first Forbes Mill, then Forbestown, then finally, Los Gatos. 

Thank goodness that changed!

Built along the Los Gatos Creek, Forbes Mill was started early in the town’s history (1854) and basically the town sprung up around it. Alexander Forbes thought that having a flour mill would be a great idea since the 49’ers gold rush was on.

So it was off to a rocky start and was never profiltable with the original owner, Forbes.  Under other ownership, things fared better, By creating and using  a  reservoir up near the current Holy Names Convent (on Reservoir Road), later owners enabled the water to flow year-round, and not just in winter. So the mill did better – though by then there was no monopoly on flour mills for feeding the forty-niners.

The mill was last used to produce flour in 1887 and it was demolished in 1916 (it was damaged in the 1906 earthquake).

What remains now is an annex that had been added on. Today it is a museum, one of two in Los Gatos.. 
 
Oh, and I almost forgot to add: it appears that this is yet another one of the town’s many haunted spots. I know, you won’t read that anywhere but here, but I had a conversation with a gal who works at Forbes Mill and she told me of a couple of stories that indicate the ongoing presence of an unseen resident.

Maybe Mr. Forbes is still trying to make his old mill profitable?

Location: 75 Church Street, which is off Main Street and close to Los Gatos High. Or if you are visiting Old Town Los Gatos, there’s a footbridge that traverses the creek and the freeway and you can walk across it to reach the mill.

Hours: The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 12 noon to 4pm. Parking is free. 408 395-7375.