Rose Rostron: Santa Cruz County’s First Female Supervisor

Rose Rostron was a woman of her time. The first woman to serve on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors was appointed to the position in 1930 by Governor Clement Young. She was an advocate for road building and improving the public road network from the Live Oak and Twin Lakes districts through Branciforte to Scotts Valley. Through dignity, hard work, dedication and strong principles she earned the respect of her peers and constituents.

Introduction

Who was Rose Rostron? How did she influence our lives today? Many people nowadays, including employees of the county clerk’s office, keepers of the county records, and those interested in county history, do not know who Rose was or what her legacy was.

Rose’s childhood is cloaked in fog. Although we know she was born in 1874 in Switzerland, we have little information about her biological parents. Her father appears to have dropped out of her life and Rose does not mention him in future interviews. While we do not know the circumstances, her mother appears to have given Rose up to the foster-parent-system (though, her mother does come back into Rose’s life later on). Rose was taken in (adopted?) by a German couple whose first names were Christian and Anna. Around 1879, they immigrated to the United States where, upon arrival, they appear to have taken the surname Aichberg.