As the last shudders of the Loma Prieta Earthquake subsided on October 17, 1989, a great cloud of brown adobe dust rose from the collapsed walls of a once-magnificent rancho overlooking the Pajaro Valley.

In this compelling biography of one of the last historic adobes in Santa Cruz County, writer and historian Suzanne Paizis traces the fate of the Castro Adobe, from pride of the wealthy Castro family in the 1840s to mysterious and sometimes ramshackle home for a succession of colorful families who followed in the 20th century (including Paizis’ own family) and finally to decaying symbol of the past.

In the second edition, nine new chapters pick up after the Loma Prieta Earthquake to tell the unlikely story of how a grand old adobe, fallen on hard times, is being reborn as the Castro Adobe State Historic Park with help from Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, California State Parks and a community of passionate grassroots supporters.

The founding of Mission Santa Cruz more than 200 years ago changed the course of history for the region. Where was the first church built in 1791 and why was that location selected? This hands-on book by local author and academic Melanie J Mayer approaches the location of the first Santa Cruz Mission as a mystery, providing readers with seven clues to help them discover for themselves the reasoning and location for the original mission.

Drawing from explorers’ journal entries and maps, The Mission Santa Cruz Mystery: Seven Clues To Find the Site of The First Mission, takes readers on an interactive walking tour of historical downtown Santa Cruz to the most probable location for the original mission, before it was relocated to present-day Mission Hill, where one original adobe building still remains as Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park.

Read an excerpt of the Mission Santa Cruz Mystery here.