It's a popular stop for travelers along Interstate 5 on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. But it also has a name that shows how things sometimes get lost in translation. The story of Santa Nella, today on KVPR's Central Valley Roots.
Situated along Highway 33 at San Luis Creek, in western Merced County, the modern community of Santa Nella is located just below the giant San Luis Reservoir. You’ve likely passed by it on Highway 152 or Interstate 5.
While most of the town is a recent creation, and a convenient stop for travelers and super commuters, it has a history that dates back almost 200 years. This land was once a part of the Mexican land grant known as Rancho San Luis Gonzaga, owned by Juan Carlos Pacheco. That’s where we get the name Pacheo Pass.
But what about Santa Nella? Well, you don’t have to be a divinity scholar to know that there is no Catholic saint named Nella. So what happened?
It turns out the town’s name is a corruption of the word centinela, which in Spanish means sentinel. See long ago, the area of today’s Santa Nella was also home to the Rancho Centinela. Scholars say it was part of the larger Gonzaga land grant.
The idea of a "sentinel" here makes sense, given the strategic location on the old El Camino Viejo, and the trail to the Pacheco Pass, connecting the valley to Monterey Bay. So "Centinela" became "Santa Nella."
