Where Andrew Jackson Sloan was shot dead in 1865 — and his apparition in a broad-brimmed hat has been reported ever since
285 Thurber Ln, Santa Cruz, CA 95062
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free public open space managed by the City of Santa Cruz.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved main trail (Broadway Dell Trail); unpaved side trails may be uneven. Relatively flat urban open space.
Equipment
Photos OK
Site of 1865 Murder · Santa Cruz Urban Open Space · Historic Road Crossing
Andrew Jackson Sloan was a 39-year-old resident of Santa Cruz when he was killed on the evening of February 11, 1865. He was riding his horse on old Soquel Road, returning from dinner in the downtown area, when he was ambushed near the Arana Bridge crossing. Jose Rodriguez shot him twice — both shots were flesh wounds — and Sloan fell from his horse. Faustino Lorenzana then approached and fired the shot that killed him. The Santa Cruz Daily Sentinel described the funeral that followed as among the largest the young city had held, reflecting Sloan's standing in the community.
Arana Gulch itself is a creek and open space corridor that forms part of the southeastern boundary of the City of Santa Cruz, beginning in the Santa Cruz Mountains and flowing southwest toward Monterey Bay. The 67-acre site is now managed as public open space by the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Department, with the Broadway Dell Trail running through its center.
The murder site marked the end of a period when the Arana Bridge crossing was an isolated choke point on the road south of town — a location that had already acquired a rough reputation before the Sloan killing. The two suspects, Rodriguez and Lorenzana, were identified and prosecuted. The case became one of the more documented violent crimes of early Santa Cruz and remained in local memory long enough for Sloan's ghost to enter the oral tradition within thirty years.
Sources
The first documented account of the Arana Gulch apparition dates to 1895 — thirty years after the murder. A woman and her daughter driving their buggy through the gulch described encountering a figure that floated among the trees, wearing a long black jacket and a broad-brimmed hat. They reported the account to Thomas Sweeney, one of the men who had carried Sloan's body from the bridge in 1865. Sweeney immediately recognized the description: it matched Sloan's appearance and his characteristic wide-brimmed hat. The account is recorded in Santa Cruz local history compilations.
Subsequent sightings follow a consistent pattern — a tall figure in a heavy coat and broad hat, usually seen at dusk or on foggy nights, that floats rather than walks and vanishes without explanation. More recent accounts include reports from residents who built homes in the Arana Gulch area; at least one couple described seeing the figure cross their deck on foggy evenings, always wearing the same hat and coat.
The ghost is not documented in academic or newspaper archives beyond the initial 1895 account. The sighting tradition has been maintained through local oral history and Santa Cruz County haunted-places compilations. The city parks open space preserves the general area of the old Arana Bridge crossing where the murder occurred.
Notable Entities
A free, publicly accessible urban open space at the southeastern edge of Santa Cruz. The main Broadway Dell Trail runs through the gulch. The area near the former Arana Bridge crossing — site of the 1865 murder of Andrew Jackson Sloan — is accessible from the Thurber Lane entrance. Ghost sightings of a broad-brimmed-hat figure are associated with foggy evenings along the gulch.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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