Santa Cruz County Place Name: Moreland Notre Dame Academy (June 3, 2026)
A Catholic school for girls on Brennan Street in Watsonville, operated by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur; opened October 1899.
The situation of the school, in the beautiful Valley of the Birds, in the quiet suburbs of the pretty little city of Watsonville, beside the sea, beneath the bounding hills, was unsurpassed.–In Harvest Fields (1926, p.234).
Named for the order [Notre Dame, “Our Lady,” for the Virgin Mary] and to honor Josephine Moreland, the daughter of Mrs. Margaret S. Moreland who founded the school in her memory. Josephine died in 1888 at the age of nineteen. Margaret S.
Loftus [Moreland] was born in Ireland in 1829; arrived in the United States in 1852 and in California in 1862. “When a young lady, Miss Loftus learned of the beautiful climate of California and having friends in Santa Cruz decided to join them.”–Guinn (1903, p.392). She married Samuel Moreland, a prominent Pajaro Valley rancher in 1866. Mrs. Moreland died in 1919. The school is located at 133 Brennan Street, Watsonville. Also known as College of Notre Dame.
Did you know that we have a local school that is over 125 years old, founded in 1899?!? That caught my attention when I was flipping through the Place Names book recently, and I decided to check to see if, 40 years later, the school was still functioning. Yes, indeed, it is: “Today the school serves over 200 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Moreland Notre Dame Catholic School is accredited by the Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA).” You can find their web site at Moreland Notre Dame school. Kind of cool, I think. :)
If you want to check out the book yourself (literally), the Santa Cruz Public Library has copies available at almost every branch, in either the reference section or available to be checked out: Santa Cruz County place names: a geographical dictionary. They also have copies of his companion book, Monterey County place names: a geographical dictionary, although most of these are reference only.
Other SF Bay Area libraries (as well as the UCSC library) also have copies, as per WorldCat:
Copies are also available for purchase on various platforms, but they’re not cheap!
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