Clayton/Concord/Pleasant Hill

RODGERS RANCH

PATRICK RODGERS LEFT IRELAND FOR AMERICA C. 1843 AT THE AGE OF 10, WITHOUT HIS FAMILY. IN 1855, HE ARRIVED IN CALIFORNIA FOR THE GOLD RUSH. IN 1868, HE AND HIS WIFE, MARY ANN, BOUGHT THIS 149-ACRE SITE TO GROW WHEAT. THE RODGERS, ALONG WITH EIGHT OTHER FAMILIES, BECAME PLEASANT HILL’S EARLIEST PIONEERS. IN THE LATE 1800S, DURING THE “SECOND CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH” (THE HIGHEST U.S. PRODUCTION OF WHEAT EVER RECORDED), RODGERS RANCH BECAME A SUCCESSFUL “HOUSEHOLD FARM,” OUTLASTING THE MUCH LARGER “BONANZA FARMS.” PATRICK DIED IN 1891 AND MARY ANN IN 1903. BOTH ARE BURIED AT ST. CATHERINE’S CEMETERY IN MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA.

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES 1991 – #91000305

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OLD MARSH CREEK SPRINGS

THIS AREA IN THE MID 1850S, WAS A KNOWN HIDEOUT
FOR LEGENDARY BANDIT JOAQUIN MURRIETA, WHO WORKED
AS A VAQUERO FOR JOHN MARSH ON HIS RANCHO JUST EAST
OF HERE. IT WAS ALSO FREQUENTED BY JOHN “GRIZZLY”
ADAMS, FAMED CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN MAN.
IN 1927 OLD MARSH CREEK SPRINGS WAS THE SITE OF THE
FIRST NATUARL SWIMMING POOL IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY.
GEROULD (JERRY) AND VERNA GILL FOUNDED OLD MARSH CREEK
SPRINGS, WHICH CONSISTED OF FOUR BASEBALL FIELDS, TWO
SWIMMING POOLS AND A LARGE DANCE HALL. THE GROUNDS
WERE A POPULAR SPOT FOR RECREATION AND ENTERTAINMENT,
FREQUENTLY ATTRACTING OVER 5,000 VISITORS IN A GIVEN
WEEKEND. IN 1965 THE PARK WAS BOUGHT BY JOHN AND
ELOISE MCHUGH AND METICULOUSLY REMODELED YEAR BY
YEAR TO KEEP THE NATURAL BEAUTY THAT IS KNOWN
AS OLD MARSH CREEK SPINGS.

DEDICATED NOVEMBER 7, 2015
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THE EUCALYPTUS GROVE

JOEL CLAYTON OWNED THE PROPERTY FACING MORRIS STREET
FROM 1857 TO 1870. HIS ESTATE SOLD THE LOTS TO
J. H. KELLER IN 1877 WHO BUILT A HOUSE, SLAUGHTER HOUSE,
BUTCHER SHOP AND BARN.

GEORGE SCAMMON OWNED MOST OF THE REMAINING LOTS AND
PLANTED EUCALYPTUS SEEDS AROUND THE PROPERTY IN 1878.
IN 1882 KELLER SOLD HIS PROPERTY. IN 1907 THE MITCHELL FAMILY
ACQUIRED THE PROPERTY AND THE HOUSE BURNED DOWN IN 1973.

IN 1978 MANY OF THE 38 EUCALYPTUS TREES FELL VICTIM TO
DROUGHT STRESS AND IN 1992 THESE 120 FOOT TALL, 114 YEAR
OLD TREES WERE REMOVED FOR SAFETY REASONS.

THE EUCALYPTUS GROVE HAD ALWAYS BEEN USED
FOR COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES. BECAUSE OF THIS, THE SITE
WAS PURCHASED BY THE CITY ON OCTOBER 7, 1999.

“THE GROVE” PARK WAS DEDICATED JANUARY 12, 2008.

CLAYTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 2015

KELLER RANCH

AS EARLY AS 2000 BC, THIS AREA WAS HOME TO THE VOLVON
MIWOK NATIVE AMERICANS. MANY ARTIFACTS OF THEIR LIFESTYLE
WERE FOUND WHEN AMERICAN SETTLERS ARRIVED IN THE 1800S.

UNDER THE HOMESTEAD ACT BETWEEN 1862 AND 1872, CLAYTONS
FOUNDER, JOEL CLAYTON, ACQUIRED 480 ACRES OF WHAT BECAME
THE CLAYTON RANCH WHERE HE PLANTED GRAPES.
JOEL CLAYTON DIED IN 1872.

FROM 1872 1876, VINTNER PAUL DE MARTINI ACQUIRED 145 ACRES
OF THE SOUTH WESTERN CLAYTON RANCH FROM JOEL CLAYTONS
ESTATE AND BUILT THE DEMARTINI WINERY (NOW CLAYTON CITY
HALL) AND PRODUCED PRIZE-WINNING WINES UNTIL THE 1920S.

BETWEEN 1903 AND 1910, CHARLES HENRY HARRY KELLER
PURCHASED THE REMAINDER OF THE CLAYTON RANCH FROM THE
JOEL CLAYTON ESTATE AND NAMED IT LIBERTY RANCH”
(IN HONOR OF HIS WIFE, ELODIA LIBERTY), WHICH WAS A
VINEYARD UNTIL CONVERTED TO RANCHING AFTER PASSAGE
OF THE 1919 VOLSTEAD ACT/PROHIBITION.

IN 1913, THE KELLER RANCH HOUSE, NAMED CASA DEL SIERRA,
WAS COMPLETED. HARRY KELLER OPERATED THE RANCH UNTIL
HIS DEATH IN 1940. ELODIA MAINTAINED A LIFE ESTATE HERE UNTIL
HER DEATH IN 1954.

RANCHING CONTINUED UNDER LEASE AGREEMENTS UNTIL 1972,
WHEN THE PROPERTY WAS SOLD BY KELLER FAMILY HEIRS FOR
PROSPECTIVE DEVELOPMENT. IN 1987, PRESLEY HOMES
PURCHASED THE PROPERTY FOR THE OAKHURST COUNTRY CLUB
DEVELOPMENT. RECOGNIZING THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND
CULTURAL IMPORTANCE OF THE PROPERTY, PRESLEY DONATED
THE PARCEL CONTAINING THE KELLER RANCH HOUSE TO THE CITY
OF CLAYTON IN 1991.

THE STATE HISTORICAL RESOURCE COMMISSION DETERMINED THE
KELLER HOUSE TO BE OF SIGNIFICANT VALUE IN 2001 AND IT IS
NOW LISTED ON THE CALIFORNIA REGISTER OF HISTORICAL
RESOURCES.

CLAYTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 2016

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FARMING & RANCHING IN CLAYTON

PIONEERS, MINERS & COWBOYS ALONG WITH RANCHING AND FARMING HAVE ALL BEEN IMPORTANT PARTS OF CLAYTON’S HISTORY. FOUNDED BY JOEL CLAYTON IN 1857, HE LAID OUT THE DOWNTOWN, ESTABLISHED HIS CATTLE RANCH AND  28 ACRES OF VINEYARDS.

WHEN JOEL CLAYTON DIED IN 1872 PAUL DEMARTINI BOUGHT HIS RANCH AND IN 1885 WITH ITALIAN MASONS BUILT THE STONE WINERY THAT WAS CONVERTED TO CLAYTON’S CITY AHLL IN 1997. CLAYTON’S FERTILE SOIL AND MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE PRODUCED QUALITY WINES THAT WON AWARDS AT THE 1904 WORLD’S FAIR IN ST. LOUIS.

IN THE EARLY 1900’S STEEL-WHEELED TRACTORS JOINED CLAYTON’S HORSES & MULES. DURING PROHIBITION (1920-33) SOME OF CLAYTONS’S VINEYARDS WERE CONVERTED TO ALMOND AND WALNUT ORCHAREDS. ALONG WITH HAY AND LIVESTOCK, TRACTORS, 4-H CLUBS AND RANCHES WERE AN IMPORTANT PART OF CLAYTON FOR MORE THAT 100 YEARS BEFORE REPLACED BY RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISIONS.

THESE TRACTORS & PLAQUES DONATED BY THE
CLAYTON BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION 2009.

1937 W-30 McCORMICK-DEERING

THIS TRACTOR IS STEEL-WHEELED, WITH A CRANK STARTER OF THE TYPE COMMONLY USED IN THE EARLY 1900’S THRU THE 1940’S

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