Ohlone tribes occupied areas along watercourses in Scotts Valley such as creeks, spring and seep areas, areas along permanent and seasonal drainages, and flat ridges and terraces. These early settlements probably occurred as early as 2000 BC. Therefore, areas along watercourses are considered likely locations for prehistoric cultural resources. Several watercourses, including portions of Carbonera Creek, Bean Creek, MacKenzie Creek and the San Lorenzo River, are within the city. Permanent villages were usually placed on elevations above seasonal flood levels. Surrounding areas were thence used for hunting and seed, acorn, and grass gathering. Scotts Valley was named after Hiram Scott who purchased Rancho San Augustin, including the valley, in 1850 from Joseph Ladd Majors. Before Majors, the property was owned by José Bolcoff. Bolcoff was the original settler and first European to claim title and live in what was to be Scotts Valley. He was born Osip Volkov around 1794 in Petropavlosk-Kanchatsky, a village on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Siberia. Working as a fur trader around 1815, Bolcoff jumped ship on the Monterey Bay shoreline, quickly assimilated into the Spanish culture, and was well received by the Spanish authorities. Volkov had his Russian Orthodox Baptism validated in Mission Soledad in 1817, and was given the Spanish name José Antonio Bolcoff. Bolcoff lived with and traveled with California's Governor Sota, acting as an interpreter. Becoming a Mexican citizen in 1833, Bolcoff moved his family to his 4,400-acre land grant building, an adobe casa historians speculate was located near present-day Kings Village Shopping Center. Bolcoff relinquished his interest in the Rancho San Augustin, selling and accepting $400 from Joseph Ladd Majors, also known as Don Juan José Mechacas. July 7, 1846 marked the Battle of Montereyshift of power in the region from Mexico to the United States. Hiram Scott built Scott House in 1853 in Greek revival style. Sitting on the green lawn behind City Hall, it is a Santa Cruz County Historical Trust Landmark, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The house originally stood on Scotts Valley Drive, about where a Bank of America branch is now located. In 1966 the City of Scotts Valley was incorporated, using the Scott family name. Scotts Valley's most famous resident was legendary film director Alfred Hitchcock. The Master of Suspense and his family lived in a mountaintop estate above the Vine Hill area for 32 years, from 1940 to 1972. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotts_Valley%2C_California