Enomoto Cabin is part of the Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs. Its historical significance spans several generations from the late 1800s through the roaring 1920s and World War II. Established in the 1870s, the compound quickly gained popularity as a lavish bathhouse and clubhouse for the wealthy. It became a vibrant social hub in the 1920s, hosting bootleg liquor parties with slot machines and carefree attitudes.
In 1938, Kyuzaburo Sakata, a successful Japanese lettuce farmer from nearby Watsonville, bought the compound with the aim of creating a cultural and community center for Japanese Americans. However, his plans were disrupted by the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which led to his internment in one of the U.S. Government’s Internment Camps. After his release, Sakata returned home but was unable to restore the compound to its former glory.
In 2003, the California Department of Parks and Recreation purchased Yamato Hot Springs, integrating it into Henry W. Coe State Park. It is now recognized as a California Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. HistoriCorps is excited to return to the Gilory Yamato Hot Springs this season to perform some much needed TLC on the Enomoto Cabin which has fallen into disrepair from vandalism and neglect. Come spend Memorial Day preserving an integral part of this fabled compound.
13800 Gilroy Hot Springs, Gilroy, CA 95020
HistoriCorps is committed to educating and training volunteers in preservation skills, with an overarching mission of inspiring a preservation ethic in all those involved. Learning and working alongside expert HistoriCorps field staff, volunteers and applying the traditional skills necessary to restore the Enomoto Cabin: