Elihu Anthony

Elihu Anthony (born 30 November 1818 in Greenfield, New York – died on 15 August 1905 in Santa Cruz, California) was a California pioneer, blacksmith, industrialist, landowner and Methodist minister. He is considered a founding father of the city of Santa Cruz. He also served as a member of the California State Assembly 6th District, 1880-81.

Born 30 November 1818 in Greenfield, New York to Asa and Sarah (née Odell) Anthony, they moved often in his childhood and eventually landed in Indiana. Prior to moving West, Anthony worked in Indiana as a Methodist minister. In 1845, Anthony married Sarah A. Van Anda in at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The family emigrated in 1847 on the Oregon Trail but cutoff early for California. He was an abolitionist and a supporter of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Anthony arrived in Santa Cruz between December 1847 and January 1848 to work as a local Methodist Episcopal Church preacher. In the early years he bought a 15 acre lot of land (the main area of the lot was near what is now the junction of Mission Street, Water Street and N. Pacific Avenue in downtown, the building no longer exists) and developed the first commercial block in Santa Cruz called the Anthony Block. He also build the first business, a blacksmith shop and sawmill that later became a general store. He invested in building real estate on a hill called "Anthony's Bluff" since uneven land was less preferred by the local Native Americans. When the Gold rush started in 1848, Anthony started manufacturing the pickaxes and other tools for mining and since there was a limited amount of ironworker in California during this time he made a great profit.

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