In 1916, the Eberhard and Kron Tanning Company of Santa Cruz purchased most of the remaining land from the original homesteaders.
Road construction began in 1950 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers from a local area on Palo Colorado Road known as "The Hoist" to Bottcher's Gap (), the site of former homesteader John Bottcher's cabin in 1885-86 [REF].