7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

1/35

Goldidgea rm

Luther

Ourbank

xpe r im enta rm ) HABSNo.

CA-2254

7777

odegavenue

Sebastopol

Sonoma

ounty

California

;

/?

ts,

?i'j

-T

PHOTOGRAPHS

WRITTEN

HISTORICALANDDESCRIPTIVE

DATA

HistoricAmerican

BuildingsSurvey

National

Park

Service

WesternRegion

Department

of

Interior

San

Francisco,

California4102

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

2/35

HISTORIC

MERICAN

UILDINGS SURVEY

Gold

Ridge

Farm

(Luther

BurbankExperiment

Farm)

A B S

No.

CA-2254

Theroperty

hen

urchased

y

urbank

as

alled

oldidgearm,

nd

Burbankept

hat

ame.

e

lso

eferredo

heropertys

hexperiment

r

Experimental

arm

rrounds.

oday

he

o m m o n

eference

nsage

s

The.

Lutherurbankxperimentarm. heurroundingarmand

s

eferred

o

s

the

oldridge

istrict,amedorheandyoilypefherea,nreaf

roughly

2

quare

iles.he

ameoldridgeppearsneferencespelled

both

as

wo

words

nd

s

ne.

owever,

he

onoma

County

Soil

urvey

establishes

he

spelling

f

theoilypesGoldridge.

Burbank

always resided in

Santa

Rosa, although therewas, and

still

is,

a

smallouse onheproperty.

Location:owithinhe

ityimitsf

ebastopol,he

roperty

s

approximately

ne

ile

romhe

own

enter.

he

ddresss

777

Bodega

Avenue.ts

n

he

outh

ide,

entered

nhelocketween

Robinsonoadnhe

east

nd

Pleasant

ill

Road

nhewest.

odega

Avenues

artfhemainouteromSantaRosa

ohe

oast,

ixteen

mileswestofebastopol.

TMZone

0;

14.531ast,24-8785orth.

Sonoma

County,

California.

Present

Owner:

SebastopolAreaHousingCorporation.

Present

se:

pproximately2

cresave

een

evelopedor

enior

itizen

housing.

he

property undergoing plant

rehabilitation

and

maintenance. Transferof

the latterpart of theproperty to

City of

Sebastopolcurrentlybeing

investigated.

Significance:nhisite,rom886until

hiseath

n926,urbankadhe

space,oilnd

limate

oxperiment

ith

argelantings

fruit

treesndvegetables,

rapes,rnamental

hrubs,

ulbs,erennials

nd

annuals.heropertyasomprisedfencrestheimef

purchasen885.ive

cresweredded

n904,nd.046cresn

1906.

n

923

he

.046

cres

were

old.

his

urvey

ocuments

ll

18.046

cres.

f

hem,

nly

hree

cres

ave

emained

elatively

und

i

sturbed.

hesehree

cres

re

orth,

es

tnd

outh

f

he

cottage.

he

urvivingplantsncluderees,erries

ndornamentals.

And,

ome

dditions

of

original

Burbanklantswhich

wereost

o

he

property

ave

beenmade.

hat

he

ottage

urvivess

also

mportant

to the

historic

valueof the

property.

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

3/35

G O L D

IDGE

A R M

Luther

Burbank s

xperiment

a rm )

H A B S

o.A-2254

page

)

H I S TOR I CAL

NFORMAT ION

I.

P HY S I C ALI S TORY

Burbank's

Purchase

and

Preparation

of

Property,

1885

o

1926

Events

rior

o

Purchase-

fterpending

he

irst

6

earsf

his

ife

n

his

nativeMassachusetts,

uther

urbank

eft

or

alifornia

n875.

e

arrived

n

Santa

Rosa

n

October

31,

875,here

e

oinedhisrother

Alfred

Peter

reyer,

ardener

ouched

ith

enius:

he

ife

f

LutherBurbank,

p.

92, 98).

Burbank'sother,

live

ossurbank,ndister

m m a

ollowed

im

o

Santa

osa

n

877.liveurchased

ourcres

nuppernd

ark

Streets

n

anta

osaDreyer,

.ll,

12).

uthermmediately

rented.8

cres

fisother'sroperty

nd

tartedanta

osa

NurserieswithR.W .

Bell.

The

.8

cres

hichurbank

ad

ented

rom

is

other

was

urchased

by

im

n881Sonoma

County

Office

of

he

Recorder,eedook

6,.

410).

On

eptember3,884,

urbank

urchasedourcres,rontingnhe

200

lockf

outh

Main

treet

nowSanta

Rosa

venue)

n

antaRosa.

This

property

was

the subject

of H A B S

documentation

completed

in 1984.

Purchase

f

ubjectProperty.urbank

purchased

GoldRidge

Farm

nDecember

8,

1885

rom

halmer

A.nd

lara

.

onhamSonoma

County

fficefhe

Recorder,

eed

ook8,

.

22).

From

he

deposit

eceipt

written

o

Burbank

rom

he

Bonhams,

e

an

conclude

hat

here

was

dwelling

n

the

roperty.

hedeposit

s

for

ourract

of

0

cres

f

and,

pon

whicheoweside."

Deposit,

ecember9,

885,onomaounty

Museum.)barns

hown

n

photographsakenround

he

urnfhe

century;eouldoteterminehethertasn

xistence

the

timef the

original

purchase.

Burbank

xplainedisurchase

yaying

hat

n

ebastopol

the

conditionsereoreavorableorhe

rowing

f

ome

ypes

f

plants

Henrymith

illiams,

utherurbank isethods

nd

Dscoveries

nd

TheirPracticalApplication,

II,

.

02).

urbank

also

alked

bout

heeedorpace

orhisarge

xperiments.

e

was

uoted

s

aying,

I

ave

ent

o

apan

o

ecure

eed

nd

cuttings

f

reat

ariety

f

ruits.

he

econd

onsignment

rom

Japan

ame

December0,

885.

heplace

t

ebastopol

where

hey

were

toe

lanted

nd

urtured

asurchasedight

ays

ater.ndwith

this

urchase,he

projectf

evoting

ifetimeo

hework

of

plant

experimentation

asairly

nd

inely

naugurated."

Williams,.

102.)

Burbank

described

thearm

as

follows:

The

arm

as

radual

ndentle

lope

oward

he

Santa

osa

alley.

ts

ndulatingnontour,nd

its

chief

slopes

ace

he

east.

The

oil

is

sandy...On

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

4/35

GOLDRIDGEFARM

(Luther

Burbank'sExperiment

F a r m '

HABS

N o .

CA-2254

page3 ]

this

lace

therei s

agreat

variety

o f

soils

and

degrees

of

moisture.omepartsofthe

land

are

so

moist

that

th e

water

seeps

up

t o

th esurface

throughout

th e

season

and

th e

remainder

i s

soloose

and

friable

that

moisture

may

be

found

all

through

th e

summer,

even

six

onths

fter

ny

ain

as

allen

pon

t .

(Williams,p .

108.)

Atth e

time

th eplace

waspurchased,Burbankreported,

About

two-thirds

ofit

was

covered

with

white

and

tan

oaks,he

native

Douglasspruce,

anzanita,

ascara,

sagrada,

hazel

andmadrone,

while

beneath

th e

trees

grew

rodiaeas,

alochortus,ynglossum,ildeas,

f ritillarias

rchids,

isyrinchiumsyellow

nd

blueandnumerous

wildplantsand

shrubs...many

o f

t h e

wild

species

were

utilized

in

experiments

of

great

interest

and

sometimes

of

importance.

Williams,

p .

108.)

This

farm

is

oneo f

th e

most

sightly

places

in

th e

vicinity.n

the

middleforegroundlies

the

broad

SantaRosaValleywithth eCityof

Santa

Rosainth e

distance;

and

almost

under

one'sfeet

i sSebastopol.

Mount

St.Helena

looms

up

grandly

in

th e

east

some

3 0

miles

away,

morethan4,000

feet

inaltitude.

osto f

th e

hillsandmountainso fthe

region

are

wooded

with

Douglasspruce,variousoaks,madronasand

manzanitas.

Along

the

streams,

through

th e

valley,

grow

Oregon

maples,

lders,

sh ,

illows,

nd

awthorns.

(Williams,p .110.)

Burbank

described

th e

surrounding

area:

Looking

overth e

Valley

o fSanta

Rosa,

one

seesoneo f

th e

most

prosperous

communitiesanywhere

to

befound.

In

th early

spring,reat

apple

and

prunerchards

lightenth e

valleywith

a

sheet

of

bloom;

and

later,

fields

of

hops

here

andthere,withth e

vineyards

along

th e

foothills,

make

a

most

enchanting

view.hefloor

of

th e

valley

i slike

onegreat

park

dottedhereand

therewithgiantoaks,

each

oneof

them

adifferent

form;

here,

perhaps,ahundredin

a

cluster,

here

a

half

adozen,

artisticly

grouped

as

if

by

alandscape

gardener.

hese

are

mostly

whiteoakthough

in

some

parts

ofth evalley

there

are

numerous

patches

of

th e

blacko a k ,and

along

th estreamst h emountain

live

o a k .

. ..Someof

th e

other

evergreendeciduous

trees

growing

in

thisimmediatevicinity

are:

regon

maple,

box

elder,Oregon

ash,

California

buckeye,

white

alder,red

alder,

tan-bark

oak,

white

oak,

Pacific

post

oak,

black

oak,blueoak,maul

oak,

mountainlive

oak,

tree

elder,

bush

elder, cottonwood,

bayberry,

madrona,

golden

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

5/35

-GOLD

RIDGE

F A R M(Luther

Burbank'sExperiment

F a r m )

H A B S

No.

CA-2254 p a g e 4 )

chestnut,

Coast

manzanita

and

common

manzanita.

here

are

rnamental

shrubs

in

profusion..*Williams,.

110-113.)

Preparation,

he

trees

which

covered

two-thirds

of

th e

property

were

cleared

t

make

wayforBurbank'sexperiments.

fter

clearing,

Burbank

saidtha

"manyspeciesfcloverwhollynewtome,adeheirappearance

There

was

also

an

abundance

of

Erodium

moschatuma

Chileanplan

belongingto

th e

geraniumfamily.h isandth e

clovers

growing

inth

winter

made

asplendidcrop

to

turn

underin

th e

spring,

thusaddin

toth e

soil

much

nitrogen..."

(Williams,p .

108).

Development

During

Burbank's

Lifetime

1885

to1906:

rom

Timeof

Purchase

tothe

1906

Earthquake.

hese

21years

sa

Burbankclimbtoth efameofaninternationalcelebrity,climaxingi

th e

last

four

years

o f

the

period.

How

often

and

h ow

Burbanktravelledfrom

his

homeinSantaRosa

t o

th

Sebastopol

farmis

addressed

byWilliams'work,his

sister

Emma

an

visitors.

illiams

quotesBurbank

as

saying,

My

time

wasdivide

betweenth e

Experiment

Garden

a t

Santa

Rosa

and

thatatSebastopol...

(Williams,

p.

104).

mma

relatedthat,

"Two

or

threetimeseach

wee

a

day

mustbespenta t

Sebastopol.

EmmaBurbank

Beeson,Th eEarl

Lifeand

Letters

ofLutherBurbank,n-p.)ccordingto

Dutch

botanis

HugoDeVries,eportinginJuly1904

in

a

hand-written

manuscrip

(later

printedin

various

publications

and

forms),

"two

days

each

wee

hegoes

there

on

his

bicycle"

(HugoDeVries,California

Fruit,

A

Visi

to

Luther

Burbank,

1904.

Handwritten,

The

Papers

of

LutherBurbank

Manuscript

Division,

Library

o fCongress,Washington,DC).

his

wa

followed

by

a

newspaper

article

dated

July

28,

904

which

reporte

that

urbank

h adpurchasedan

Oldsmobile

Roundabout.h earticl

remarked

that,"tob e

sure

it

willsave

considerable

timeintrip

back

and

forth

from

th e

local

grounds

to

th e

experimental

grounds

a

Sebastopol."

"Burbank

to

beChauffeur,"Scrapbook,Vol.,p .2 3

Th e

apersf

uther

urbank,

anuscript

ivision,

ibrary

Congress,

Washington,

DC).

mma

described

Burbank

working

there

"These

werewearisomedays,especially

during

th e

fruitseason.

would

passrapidly

up

anddownth elong

rows

o ftreesandplants

giving

attention

t o

each

individualplant,

ommending

or

rejectin

it."

(Beeson,

n.p.)

Physical

Development

ofhe

Experiment

Farm.

h e

first

photographs

f

th

property

appeartodate

near

thelast

part

of

th e

19thcentury.her

are

a

group

of

photographs

taken

fromBodega

Road

looking

south

an

including

th e

cottageandbarn.thers

span

th e

property.opieso

these

photographs

are

submitted

a spartof

thisproject.

Thephotographs

show

long

rows

o f

experiments,

a

cottage

and

barn,

an

awooded

area

in

th e

background

tothe west.

hese

firstphotograph

showthat

th e

cottage

is

of

different

architecture

thanthe

survivin

cottage,but

appearsto

be

int h e

same

position

(PhotographN o .1 )

Th e

urviving

ottage

ppears

n

rchival

hotographs

ls

(PhotographsNo.

8 ,

9 ) .

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

6/35

GOLD

RIDGE

FARM

(Luther

Burbank's

Experiment

Farm)

HABS

N o .

CA-2254 page5 )

Th efirstcottagei s

of

o n e

story

and

has

a

g a b l e

roof,

and

therei s

a

porchalongth eentirefrontfacingBodegaRoad- Aviewintoth

property

along

th e

driveway

from

just

outside

th e

entrance

gate

seem

to

show

best

that

th e

former

cottage

was

locatedinth e

same

spot

a

th e

present

cottage

(Photograph no.

3 ) .

Research

foundduring

th e

period

from

1904

to

1908

presents

the

firs

fulldescriptions

of

the

developedproperty'sappearance.

ug

DeVrieswrote,

followinghis

visit

toBurbank's

properties,

that

in

anta

osa

h e

tarts

ade

or

very

ew

experiment...if

resultsarein view,andthecultureo f

thousands

fpecimenssequired..-theyre

transferredto

th egrounds

at

Sebastopol"

(DeVries,

p .

25

and

26).

tth etime

DeVries

visited,h ereported

that,

"About

half

of

his

ground

is

given

to

prunes.

t

present,heh as

about

300,000different

kinds;

however,

not

somany

trees.e

i s

accustomedto

graft.

e

saw

smalltrees

with

30

to

40

grafts,andlargeronesupon

which200to

400

weregrafted"

(DeVries,

p .30).

DeVries

i squoted

by

W .

S .

arwood

as

creditingBurbank

with

a

ne

method

of

producing

resultsthatofexperimentationonalargescal

inorder

t obring

results

sooner:

"We

were

unacquainted

with

th e

results

o fowingo n

such

ascaleasthatof

Burbank,

and

weimaginedthat

th e

results

could

be

reached

only

by

slow

degrees...Mr.

Burbank's

work

excels

everything

that

was

ever

done

in

th e

world

before...

Harwood

added

his

ownappraisal:

Someideao fth e

magnitude

of

th ework

may

beobtained

fromthefollowing

figures,

llustrating

the

average

number

f

ruits

nder

est

t

ivenime

t

Sebastopol

from

year

to

year:

Threeundredhousand

distinct

arieties

flums,

different

in

foliage,in

form

of

fruit,

in

shipping

and

canningqualities,60,000peachesand

nectarines,

five

tosixthousandalmonds,2,000cherries,

2,000

pears,

1,000

pples,

,200

uinces,

,000alnuts,

,000

chestnuts,5

to

6,000

berries...with

many

thousandso f

other

fruits,flowersandvegetables.

Th e

grafting

done

at

Sebastopol,

likeall

th e

work

carried

on

there,i son

a

largescale.

n

a

single

grafting

season,

which

comprisesmorethan90

working

days,

more

than00,000

grafts

willbe

set...(W.

.

Harwood,

New

Creations

inP l a n t

Life,

p .233

and

251).

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

7/35

GOLDRIDGEF A R M

(Luther

Burbank's

Experiment

F a r m )

H A B S

N o .CA-2254

page

6 )

Burbank

Adds

Acreage

to

th e

Farm.

u r b a n k .

added

five

acres

toth e

site

along

h is

southpropertylineonFebruary8 ,

1904.

urchase

was

rom

P .

L.

Schlotterback

(Sonoma

County

Office

of

th e

Recorder,

Deed

Book

219,

p .

1 5 6 ).

newspaper

article

addresses

Burbank's

preparation:Mr.

Burbank

now

h as

th e

five

acres

h e

recently

purchased

cleared

of

undesirable

trees

and

also

in

a

thorough

state

of

cultivation,

preparatory

to

planting

th e

same,

which willbeginimmediately"

("Five

AcresReady

forExperimentation,"

March

3 ,

1905,

p.

285,Scrapbook,

Vol.

4 ,

Th e

Papers

ofLutherBurbank,

Manuscript

Division,

Libraryof

Congress,Washington,

DC).

Writers

describing

th e

site

in

1905

provide

further

information,

and

sometimes

dulation.

onoria

P .

uomey, ebastopollementary

school

eacher,roterticles

bouth earm

or

everal

publications.

er

descriptionpointedout,

"Beyondthe

orchard...no

less

than

16,000

different

kinds

of

potatoes*..Thousands

of

seedling

rosebushes..."

f

th e

nut

trees,

sh e

said

they

"are

marvelously

rapid

growers

nd

roduce

uts

henomenally

arly.

he

alnuts

nd

chestnuts

bear

th e

second

year

fromseed"

(Honoria

P .

Tuomey,

"Luther

Burbank,

cientist,"Out

West

Magazine,eptember905,crapbook,

Volume

5 ,

p .

51,

Th e

Papers

of

LutherBurbank,

Manuscript

Division,

Library

o f

Congress,Washington,

DC).

ewspaper

writer,

Garrett

T .

Serviss,

said

poetically:

...in

this

new

garden

of

Eden

Icould

feastmy

eyes

upon

th e

spectacle

oftrees

gleaming

with

showers

of

fruit

whose

kind

nature

didnotknowuntilth e

genius

o f

mansummoned

it

nto

being "

Garrett

T .Service,"Flowers,

Fruits

and

Such

as

Never

Here

KnownBefore,"

Los

Angeles

Examiner,December9 ,905,

Scrapbook,

Volume

6 ,

p .

106,

Th e

Papers

ofLuther

Burbank,

Manuscript

Division,

Library

of

Congress,

Washington,

DC).

Notlong

after,

Burbank

needed

even

more

land.

newspaper

article

reported

that

"Luther

Burbank

hasrentedtwoacresofth eold

Alex

Ragle

ranch

onSpring

Hill,

now

owned

byF .

S .

Clayton,

and

will

use

th etract

to

raiserhubarb

on.lthoughth e

local

experimental

grounds

were

enlarged

one-half

last

year,

they

are

proving

much

too

small

for

th e

extensive

work

now

beingcarried

on"("Burbank

Rents

Land,"

nodate

or

newspaper

indicated,crapbook,dated1905,Volume

5 ,

p.

75.h e

Papers

ofLutherBurbank,Manuscript

Division,

Library

o f

Congress,

Washington,DC).

Then

on

March

1 7 ,

1906,

h e

purchased

3.046

acres

adjoining

th e

western

boundary

SonomaCountyOffice

o f

th e

Recorder,

Deed

Book

222,

p .

286).

newspaper

reported,

"Thetrustees

o f

Lafayette

LodgeFreeand

Accepted

Masons

have

petitioned

the

uperior

Court

to

be

granted

permission

to

sell

3.045

acres

o f

land

of

th e

Masonic

Cemetary

at

Sebastopol.h island

adjoins

th e

experiment

grounds

of

Luther

Burbank,

and

the

propertyi s

to

b e

sold

to

that

eminent

scientist,

wh o

requires

a

couple

of

acres

in

addition

as

experimental

grounds.h e

trustees

have

an

offer

of$500

for

th e

property,

and

a stheycan

spare

th esame

withoutdetriment,

wish

todisposeofit"("WillSell

to

Luther

Burbank,'*

Santa

Rosa

Republican,

crapbook

Volume

6 ,

p .

0 6 ,

1905-06,

Th e

PapersofLutherBurbank,

Manuscript

Division,

Library

of

Congress,Washington,

DC).

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

8/35

-GOLDRIDGE

FARM

(Luther

Burbank's

Experiment F a r m )

HABS

N o .

CA-2254

page

7 )

Employees:

esearchuncovered

only

tw o

referencesto

th enumbero f

employees

assisting

Burbankon

th eFarm.

newspaper

article

which

was

reporting

on

th e

1904

acreage

addition

mentioned

that

"Burbank

hasa t

th e

present

fourmen

assisting

h imon

his

grounds."

Articlesource

unidentified,

crapbook,

ol.

,

h e

apers

f

uther

urbank,

Manuscript

Division,

Libraryof

Congress,

Washington,DC).

Andby1906,thatnumberh adincreased,"...he[Burbank]employsfrom

eighteenowenty

killedardeners"Helen

arcourt,

Luther

Burbank,Wizard

of

th e

Garden,"heSunnySouth,Atlanta,Georgia,

Nov.

3 ,

1906,

ScrapbookVol.

6 ,

p .

7 8 ,ThePapersof

Luther

Burbank,

Manuscript

Division,

Library

of

Congress,Washington,

DC).

Bonfires.

ot

th e

least

amongth edescriptions

of

th e

property

were

Burbank's

large

bonfiresofrejectedexperiments.omeaccounts

credit

Burbank

withburninga smanya s1 4fires

per

year,amagazinearticleo f1 9 4 9

quotes

Burbank

as

saying,

"I

burn

th e

pileonly

once

a

year...By

that

time,itisa shigha smy house"(JohnY .Beaty,"Luther

Burbank

a s

KnewHim,"FlowerGrower,April1949).

photoinhiscatalog

o f

June

1884

depicts

such

a

pile,with

a

shovel

piercing

th e

groundin

front.

Judging

from

th e

scale,

th e

pile

looks

as

tall

asa

one-story

house

("New

Creations

in

Fruit

and

Flowers,"

nurserycatalog,June1884).

Both

hissister

Emma

and

W.S .Harwood

reported

th e

more

numerous

bonfires.

rote

Emma

in

1908,"Acontinual weeding-outprocess

ini n

operation;inoneyearon

th e

Gold

Ridge

farm,

65,000

two-

and

three-year-old

berry

bushes

wereburnedin

one

big

bon-fire

and

there

were1 4otherfireso fequalsizeonth efarmthatyear..."(Emma

Burbank

Beeson,"PlantLife,

Th e

Progressive

Teacher

,1908,Scrapbook,

Vol.

,

.

0 ,

he

Papers

f

Luther

Burbank,

Manuscript

ivision,

Library

of

ongress,Washington,DC).

arwoodalsowrote

f

more

bonfires,"Inasingleyear,

a s

many

as

1 4

of

thesehugebonfireshave

been

lighted

on

the

hillsofSebastopol,

onsuming

hundreds

o f

thousandsofplants."(Harwood,p .39.)

W .

P .Stark

Visits.

he

first

visit

of

a

Stark

Bros.

Nursery

owner

occurredi n

1906.

tark

Bros.

Nursery

was

to

become

th e

lessee

ofth e

Farmafter

Burbank's

death.tth etime,Starkwas"alreadyhandlingsomeofM r .

Burbank'sreations

ndas,

rom

ime

o

ime,orwardedh e

distinguishedscientist

flowers

and

fruitsforexperimental

purposes"

("Big

NurserymanVisits

Burbank,"Santa

Rosa

Press

Democrat,February

10,

906,

Scrapbook

Volume

6 ,

p .

1 0 7 ,

The

Papers

of

Luther

Burbank,

ManuscriptDivision,Library

of

Congress,

Washington,

DC).

Development

o

f Surrounding

Agricultural

AreaandCommunity

of

Sebastopol

At

he

imef

urchase,he

oldidge

istrict

asirmly

established

a s

a

favorablefruit-growing

region.

Sebastopol

itself

shows

onan

1877

Atlas

map

a s

atown

oftwocrossing

streets.heland

from

which Gold

Ridge

Farm

was

to

be

created

was

a

200-acreparcel

elonging

o

John

WalkerThomas

.hompson

and

Company,

istorical

Atlaso

f

Sonoma

County

of

877)

.

y

1898

Sebastopol

had

seven

streets

(Reynolds

and

Proctor,

Illustrated

Atlas

ofSonomaCounty,

California

1898

)

.

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

9/35

G O L DIDGEA R MLutherBurbank's

Experiment

a r m )

H A B S

No .

A- 2 2 5 4 page

)

A n

nincorporated

ownuntilMay

902,ebastopola she

ommercial

center

f

hatasalledhenalyownshipnamedfterhearly

ownerofa large tractof landhose

n a m e

wasAnnaly.

T he

ailroad

was

xtended

rom

anta

Rosa,

ringing

n

he

irst

rain

onFebruary890.

The

898

tlasreditsheownshipith

hree

ineries,

roducing

300,000

allons

fwineerear,

grape

ryer,rops

f

ried

apples,herries,ears,eaches,erries,

runes,

reen

pples,

grapes,ops,

ay,

egetables,

oultry,

ggs

nd

utter,

otalling

$325,000.he

tlas

escribes

heownshipsollows:Soilf

almost

he

ntire

ownships

andy

oam. .nodobe

n

t.

most

fortunate

ombinationsoundn

hisownshipnoilndater.

Underheurface,tvaryingut

never

great

epth,

s

oundort

of

nderground

urrentf

water;

urrent

hat

lwaysexists

nhe

same

capacity...by

proper

cultivation,

ufficient

moisture

s

bsorbed

to

preclude

the

necessity

for

irrigation..."

B y

hisime,uther

Burbank

wasonsidered

ewsworthy,

ndhe

Atlas

reportshatechosepotearebastopols

eing

estdapted

forhe

ultivation

f

veryindf

egetation..."

Atlas,

898,.

57).

Theebastopol

imes

nMarch,90 2laimedhatSebastopolshe

center

f

the

very

besteciduous

ruit

country

inCalifornia."

Newspapereports

give glimpse

ntohe

ommunityat

he

urn

f

he

century.

he

poor-quality

roads

were

a

constant

topic.

he

Sebastopol

imes

eported

n

he

ondition

f

he

oads

requently:

The

reestone

a

ommunity

evenmiles

est

f

ebastopol]

o a d

s

almostmpossible.

orears

ast,

oorighways

ave

reatly

retarded

heevelopmentfnaly

ownship

nd

herowthf

Sebastopol

January

,

899),

nd,

nebruary1,900,Several

loads

f

ravel

were

placed

n

Ma in

Street

astweek. nd

egarding

the

odega

oad,nune

4

heewspaper

eported

hat

Roadtnaster

Malls

overing

he

and

n

ront

f

heemeteryadjoining

Burbank'sroperty)

ith

oatfravel,hus

aking

reat

improvement.

T o

urther

olve

he

roblem

f

he

poor

oads,

he

ebastopol

imes

reported

n

pril

1,

900

n

he

stablishment

f

tage

ine

between

ccidental

west

f

ebastopol]

nd

anta

osa

y

a y

f

Sebastopol.

For

ma n y

years,

people

residing

along

the

road

connecting

he

little

edwood

city

with

Sebastopol

nd

he

ounty

eat

have

een

oping

or

direct

communication

with the

place

named.

Theack

f

water

ystemwaspointed

ut

yhe

ditorfhe

SebastopolTimes

n

uly,900,ndheeedor ewageystem,

n

December12, 1900.

But,

npite

f

he

problems,

he

rea

id

prosper.

heebastopol

Timesexpressed local

pride

n

1900: A

eal

estate

nd

buildingoom

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

10/35

GOLDRIDGE

FARM(Luther

Burbank'sExperiment

F a r m )

H A B S

N o .CA-2254 page

9 )

isnrogressnebastopol,nd

anyostlynd

mportant

improvements

are

being

made"

(December

20,

1899),

and,

onFebruary

7

reported

that

"Immensequantities

o f

brick

and

lumber

arrive

daily

for

building

now

in

cause

of

construction

in

Sebastopol."

New

cement

sidewalkswereinstalled"(SebastopolTimes,April1 1 ,

1900).

On

July

18,

1900,

th eSebastopol

Timesreported

that

th e

streets

were

being

graded

and

current

sidewalks

laid.

eferringto

what

th e

railroaddidforagriculture,th e

newspaper

pointedout,"Sebastopol

h as

plendid

acilitiesor

heransportation

ftsarious

products..."(January

2 ,1903).

Sebastopol

Timesissues:

estern

Sonoma

County

HistoricalSociety

Archives,

Sebastopol,

California.)

AttentionAttracted

by

Burbank

Affects

Property.

y

1902,

Burbank

had

becomea

national

ero,

ttracting

reateal

f

ewspaper

overage.

Scrapbookspastedwith

magazineandnewspaper

articles

were

compiled

at

the

Burbank

site

in

Santa

Rosa

( t h e

scrapbooks

were

donated

t o

th e

LibraryofCongressby

Elizabeth

Burbank

upon

her

death).

h eperiod

from

1902

to1907saw

th e

most

news

coverage

and

givesusth egreatest

bodyof

descriptions

byvisitors.

AtSanta

Rosa,

Burbank

a t

first

accommodated

visitors,limiting

them

to

fiveminutes

(Emma

BurbankBeeson,

Th eMiracle

Maker,

n.p.,

Th e

Papers

o fLuther

Burbank,

ManuscriptDivision,Libraryo fCongress,

Washington,

DC,

and

other),

but

by

1904

hiscatalogspointed

out

that

th epropertyisosted:

Private

Gardens-PositivelyNoVistors

Allowed."

edid,apparently,allowsomevisitorsbyappointment.s

reported

by

Harwoodand

others,

a

form

wasrequired

to

becompletedby

visitors. It

designated

a visitor's

number

andasked,

Whatsyourbusinesswith

M r .

urbank?.. .For

whose

benefit

i s

this

interview?.

.

.Your

name

and

address?...

(Harwood,

p .

301).

Another

formdevisedto

help

Burbank

reply

toletters

stated:

ASKNO

QUESTIONS

WHICHY OUTHINK

CAN

BEANSWERED

ELSEWHERE.

fareplyi s

desired

which

requiresmore

spacehan ostalard

ffords,

lways

nclose

$5.00...absolutely

o

isitorst

he

ebastopol

farm..."(Harwood,p .

297).

Butvisitorsctualywere

llowed

at

ebastopolforaprice.

"TICKET

OF

ADMITTANCE

TO

BURBANK'S

SEBASTOPOL

EXPERIMENT

FARM"

was

issued

a sreported

by

Harwoodandothers It

read:

Void

UnlessDatedandSigned

byProprietor...Date...

Signature...Prices

or

Admittance

fisitersDuring

th eBusy

Months

ofApril,May,

June,

July,August

and

September:ach

person,

onehour,$10;

Each

person,

one-halfour,5 ;ach

erson,

ne-quarterour,

$2.50.

dmittance

willbe

allowed

at

one-half

the

above-named

rices

uringhe

ther

ix

onths...

(Harwood,

p .302).

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

11/35

G O L D

IDGE

A R M

LutherBurbank's

Experimenta rm )

H A B So .

2 2 5 4

page

0)

Harwood

eportedhatIningle

ear,

ully

ix

housandeopl

visitheroundstantaosaasanywouldooebastopol

they

ould

get

n."

Harwood,

.

99.)

osAngelesnewspaperlso

describedheplightfwould-be

visitors:

Uninvited

visitors

yhousands

ave

ought

o

iew

he

Burbank

xperimental

rounds..

.but

igh

ences

nd

locked

atesrotect

he

ract

t

ebastopol,

nd

warning

igns

re

osted

bout The

reationsf

Luther

Burbank, os

ngelesHerald,

ebruary

,

903,

Theapersf

Luther

Burbank,anuscriptivision,

Library

f

Congress,

Washington,

DC).

Just

ow

many

visitors

were

llowed

n

he

property

atebastopoldi

not

appear

n

any

reports until

1908.

I

ad

ven

een

he

printed

lips

hat

ad

een

sed

o

head

ff

isitors,

veragingbout

5

ay.

John

.

Barry,

Wav e

f

he

World, crapbook,

Vol.

7,

.26,

The

apers

f

utherurbank,

anuscript

ivision,

Libraryof

Congress,

Washington,

DC).

B y

900,urbank's

ork

n

he

arm

as

mportantnougho

reported

n

he

ocal

news.hat

plants

romMt.

amalpais

50mile

south)Sebastopolimes,pril8,900),

nd

eeds

romentra

Americandawaiiereoelantedor

xperimentation,

s

examplefocal

attention

o

malletails

bout

he

arm.nd

glowingver

ts

ppearance,whilepointingut

ts

naccessibility,

newspapereported:

The

ebastopol

ounds

re

wakening

nto

ife

nd

vigornd,

f

nything,

re

more

orgeously

bloom

t

present...The

ruit

rees

re

specially

iving

evidence

f

heir

ondrous

eautyoon

onfold...a

peep

ver

heence

sallhat

s

ouchsafedxcept

o

aavoredewPromisef

pring,"

ource

issing,

March

5,

904,

crapbook,

ol.

,

.01,heapers

ofLutherBurbank,

anuscript

Division,ibraryf

Congress,

Washington, DC).

But

isitorswerenothenly

nes

wanting

ogetnto

he

property

Burbank

eceived

t

east

ne

ailed

pplication

or

mployment

e

day,

nd

ometimes

any

What

he

MailBringsorLuther

Burbank,

h

Wonder

f

he

West, Handwritten:

ep.,crapbook,

ol.,

902,

55,

he

apersfutherurbank,anuscriptivision,ibrary

Congress,Washington,DC).

Althoughhe

own

febastopolneversedBurbank's

ssociationwit

it

n

he

romotional

ayantaRosaad,tsewspaperidepor

activity

the

Farm,

ndatnepoint,otntonrgumentbouth

Burbank

belongs

o.

ASebastopolpapereportedhat:

AouthernCaliforniapaper

as

aidlaimoBurbank,

at

which

a

Santa

Rosa

paper

jumps

sky-high.

..Now

the

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

12/35

G O L DIDGE

A R M

LutherBurbank'sExperimenta rm )

H A B S

o.

CA - 2 2 5 4 page1)

facts

Burbank

atsndleepst,..Santa

Rosa...but

his

reat

ork...is

ll

onetebastopol,

nd

Sebastopol

s

his

rueome,

or

where

man's

reasure

ish.ereshisheartndome,alsoW ho

Does

Burbank

Belong

o?

naly

tandard,

une

905,

crapbook,

ol.

A ,

.

35,

he

apers

f

uther

urbank,

anuscript

Division, LibraryfCongress,Washington,

DC).

Another

o n om a

ounty

own,etaluma,

otntohe

iscussion.n

article inits localpapertated:

...theAnalytandardswrong.

r.Burbankbelongso

S o n om a

County...

Title

missing,

etaluma

Courier

,une

14,

905.

crapbook,ol.

,

.

35,heapersf

Luther

urbank,

anuscriptvision,

ibrary

f

Congress,Washington,

DC).

B y

908,

ome

f

he

motion

was

one

with

he

ebastopol

imes

stating:

...Althoughhe

eople

fantaosaloat

ver

he

facthat

Mr.

urbank

as

his

om e

here,

he

people

f

Sebastopolre

qually

s

roud

fheacthatis

principal

xperiments

ake

place

n

oilf

established

valuenheir

city,nd

heact

hat

M r.

urbank

as

selected

ebastopolshe

lace

o

arry

n

is

o rk

shouldeufficiento

onvince

heost

keptical

soilxpert..-f

or

esults

ount,

nd

r.

urbank

secureshe

mostwonderfulf

esultsW hy

Burbank

a s

His

rounds

ere,

ebastopol

imes,

ct.

7,

908,

Scrapbook,

ol.

,

.

79,

he

apers

f

uther

Burbank,

anuscript

ivision,

ibrary

f

ongress,

Washington, DC,).

Development

from

906

Earthquake

o1923

The

ostamagingarthquake

nalifornia's

istorytruck

he

rea

froman

Francisco

oo n om a

CountynApril8,906.ts

effects

n

thearmnd

ottage

ereeported

y

wo

bservers.

avid

tarr

Jordan

eported,

At

urbank's

arm,

.5

miles

west

f

ebastopol,

notedhesehings:

n

he

otadjoiningo

he

outh,

theoil

eing

layey,here

s

arge

rack

unning

northwest

ndoutheast,

rnearly

o,

nd

ccording

o

Burbank,.25

mileong.

tuns

hrough

he

ields

andweeds

nd

was

ery

distinct

n

August

.

he

nd

ofhis

rackom e s

p

gainst

he

andyhill,

ut

n

theastidefheinefherack,heowsf

trees

ndplants

were

hifted

oward

heouthor,f

yourefert,hosenhe

estide

oward

he

northtwo

r

hree

eet.

well

f

r.

urbank's,

sunk

n

heandyround,s

odily

hifted,ithout

being

injured,

along

with

the

rows

of

plants

between

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

13/35

G O L DIDGEA R MLuther

Burbank's

Experiment

a rm

H A B S

o .

A- 2 2 5 4

page

2

which

its

placed.o

rack,

ppearst

he

urface

n

Burbank's

round,

utnhe

ther

idefhehills,

to

heorthf

t,

a s

old

he

rackeappears.

(California

arthquake

nvestigation

ommittee,

he

California

Earthquakeof

April

18,

1906,p. 204.)

Theoremanat the

arm,

referred

oas,

Mr. Lawrence,

stated:

Men

tanding

rwalking

the

ime

f

he

hock

were

thrown

rom

heir

eet,s

wereows

nd

orses.he

small

ousenheurbanklaceasovedromts

foundation

ew

nches

downhill...

n

he

Burbank

Farm

a

mallandslide

ccurred,

ayer

fmoist

oilnly

a

eweetn

hickness

ovingown

he

lope,

introducing

ends

narious

ines

f

ultivated

plants" (Ibid., p. 205).

The

ffect

of

he

arthquake

nhe

Cottagegives

lue

ohe n

he

later

ottage

wasprobablybuilt.

Theew

brickbuildings

n

he

ownfebastopolwere

heavilya m a g e

orestroyed.

ood

buildings

aredbetter,uta nywerenockedf

foundations

nd

om e

ollapsed,

s

ndicatedy

photographsn

Wester

Sonomaountyistoricalocietyrchivesndn

he

arthquak

report, p.

204.

Moveo

ebastopol

umored.

907

eport

furbank'sossible

move

o

Sebastopol

ight

ndicate

hatheater

ottage

asot

uil

immediately

after

the

arthquake.

A

newspaper

reported:

for

monthr

ore,

t

aseen

umored

hat

uther

Burbank.

..contemplated

hanging

his

lace

f

esidence

fromSanta

Rosa

oebastopol.

t

s

owaidhatM r-

Burbank

astastully

adep

his

mindo

a ke

he

move.

t

shentention

fM r.urbankorect

handsome

om en

he

enterfisarm--.it

s

aide

iso

erect,

mo n gotherbuildings,

arge

reenhouse

( Burbank

oMove:

lanningo

Residen

his

ebastopol

Farm,

ourcemissing,andwritten

place

ndate,

Sebastopol,

alifornia,

eptember

6,907,crapbook

V .

,

p.

91,

he

apers

f

Luther

Burbank,

anuscript

Division,

LibraryfCongress,

Washington,

DC).

Oneightoncludehatn907

here

wasstill

not

nother

wellin

on the

Farm.

Nothing

more

was

oundnhe

crapbook

ewspaper

articles

bout

hi

move.

urbankad,nact,n906,ustmoved

rom

he

antaRos

Gardensouseo arge

ew

om eeadbuiltcrosshetreetrom

theGardens.

Burbank

arries.

n916urbank

arried

is

ecretary,

lizabeth

aters

Being

1

ears

ounger

han

e,

he

was

o

urvive

im

y

1

ears

She

never

remarried

and

retained

wnership

of

the

Farmproperty

unti

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

14/35

GOLDRIDGEFARM

(LutherBurbank'sExperimentFarm)

. HABS

N o .

CA-2254 page

1 3 )

1974,

hreeyears

before

h er

death.

Ina

magazine

article

he

indicated

an

intimate

familiarity

with

th e

plants

onth e

farm

at

he

timeofBurbank'sdeath

in

1926("Carrying

OnForLutherBurbank,"he

Saturday

Evening

Post,June28 ,

1930,

p .8 ) .

Appearance

of

Property.

stimewento n ,fewernewspaperand

magazine

articles

bearing

descriptionsappearin

th e

scrapbooks.tanfordProfessor,

VernonKellog,in1915,describesth eBurbank

property

in

a

waywhich

seems

to

support

Burbank's

attempts

to

discourage

visitors:

Th egardensthemselves

are

not

show

gardens.ndeed

theyare,

as

theyought

to

be,andevenmustbe,

if

t h e

masterardener

s

oontinueoorknhem,

difficult

places

toseeatall.ould-be

visitors

should

informthemselvesofth e

strict

rules

guarding

entrance

tothembefore

skipping

blithlyt oSantaRosa

"to

see

Burbank

and

his

gardens."

T heyre

not

formal

gardens,

not

landscape

ardens.

Justgardenst oworkin,laidout

for

convenienceand

efficiencyofwork,changingtheiraspectfrom

week

t o

weekorthisorthat

experiment

is

begun,

is

fully

underway,oris

completed.

he

fewsavedseedlingsor

graftsr

ullyrown

lants

r

rees,

he

new

creations,"ake

oery

reat

how.

Vernon

.

Kellogg,

Burbank's

Gardens,

1915,

Pamphlet,

Th e

Papers

of

Luther

Burbank,

Manuscript

Division,

Library

o f

Congress,Washington,DC.)

Maps.

rchivalmapso fth epropertyfound

in

researchconsisto fa1916map

identifying

sectionsonly(Appendix

A ,Burbank'shand-drawnplanbooks

(Appendix

B,C) ,anda

6

foot

by9

foot

blueprintof

amapattributed

to

1912.

h e

1916map

byBurbankshowsfivesections

identified

a s

N .

.E.,

nd

E.on

th e

original

ten

acres;

.

n

thefive-acre

section

purchased

to

th e

southin

1904andN . W .n

th e

3.046

acres

purchased

from

th eCemetaryAssociationin1906.h eN.E.ndN .

sectionsarefurthersubdividedinto

numbered

areas

(see

AppendixA) .

Burbank's

hand-drawnmapsin

his

plan

books

commonly

show

onlysmall

parts

of

th e

property.

here

are,

however,

a

few

pagesin

one

plan

book

hat

ppear

o

over

arge

areas

f

he

ebastopol

property

(Appendix

B,

C ) .

arwooddescribedth emaze-likeappearanceofthese

pages:

Th e

book

for

th e

Sebastopol

tests

i s

a

large

ledger

nearly

two

feet

inlength..-thesediagrams

or

it

may

b e

merellipsesorcircles

to

enclosecertainrelated

facts,

are

usuallydrawnin

red

inkinth emidstoft h e

text.

h eymay

run

out

intoth e

margino fth e

book,

o r

they

may

bein

th e

bodyof

th e

page...

I

cons

idered

a

sample

pagesomewhatindetail

and

foundthat

it

h ad

40

distinctdiagramsandfiguresandover600

words

pf

text.

age

after

page

o f

this

matter

appears.

Fcom

time

to

time,

additions are

made

a s th e

lant

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

15/35

GOLD

RIDGE

F A R M

(Luther

Burbank's

Experiment

F a r m )

HABSN o .

CA-2254

page 1 4 )

progresses.

h en

th e

final

testcomes

and

th e

plantis

finished,eavyross

ines

rerawn

verh e

pagetheendh as

been

reached.

On

onepage

is

a

large

circle

perhapsseven

inches

across.

t

represents

th e

branch

spread

of

a

tree.

All

over

th ecircle

arejottings

showing

where

certain

grafts

are

locatedonth e

t r e e

so

that

there

may

be

no

mistake.

n

th e

graft,

t o o ,

may

be

notations

inth e

formoftags,butth e

record

of

th e

planbooksshows

absolutelywhere

th e

graft

is,if

the

tagbe

lost,

th e

record

remains.

(Harwood,

p .

323,

324.)

Th e

map

attributed

to1912

is

th e

only

comprehensive

mapof

th e

property.clueto

its

dateappeared

in

t h e

aforementioned

Saturday

Evening

Post

article

written

by

Elizabeth

Burbank

in

which

sh estated

that

sh e

found

amap

afterBurbank's

death. I t

was,

in

a

neglected

cornerof

t h e

little

house

Mr.

Burbank

had

used

atSebastopol

asanofficeand

seed

house.t

wasaperfectlytremendousmap,

oosely

rolled,ied

with

tape,

covered

with

years

of

dust.

nless

one

knocked

out

aportion,

he

couldnot

spread

th e

map

in

th e

house,

soi twastaken

o u tof

doors.

tproved

to

be

a

beautifullymade

mapo f

th efarm,

butdated1912.

On

itwas

marked

th e

location

of

every

tree,

shruband

plant

on

place

atthattime,withtreenumbers,

some

varietynames...

Thismapcontainsdatesnotedo nplants

buthas

noidentifyingdate.

Th e

most

recentdate

appearing

on a

plant

is1913.h emapis

part

of

th e

Burbank

useum

collectionand

is

currently

( 1 9 86 )

loaned

to

Professor

Daniel

Markwyn

of

Sonoma

State

University

for

restoration

work.

Th e

map

shows

th e

following:

Property

ine

rientation:hectual

orthroperty

in e

s

identified

as

west.h e

east

property

line

is

calledout

a s

north,

and

th e

map

nas

no

north

arrow.he3.046northwest

section

purchased

from

th e

Cemetary

Association

in

1906

is

not

included.

Fences

and

gates:

long

Bodega

Avenue

is

shown

a

"picket

fence"

with

"board

gate"

at

th e

driveway.

"picket

fence"

is

also

shown

along

the

east

property

line.

"wirefence"

Is

shown

along

th e

south

and

west

propertylines.gatei sshown

on

th ewestpropertylinea ta

smalljogin

th e

propertyline.

Buildings:h e

cottageisreferred

to

as

"Foreman'sDwelling

30'-40"

by

22'-40"."tis

positionedroughly

inth e

center

ofth e

original

10-acreparcel

about

350

feet

inside

the

entrance.

tstw oporches

identify

i t

as

th e

latercottage.

o

fireplace

shows,

b ut

there

is

one

on

th e

building

at

present.

ifty

feet

behind

th e

cottage

i s

a

"Glass

House6'-3"

by

10*-3"

Used

For

PhotographicPurposes."

Behind

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

16/35

GOLD

RIDGE

FARM

(Luther

B u r - b a n k ' sExperiment

Farm)

HABS

N o .

CA-2254

page 1 5 )

th e

glass

house,94

feet

fromth ecottage,i sa"Barn,One-storyand

Loft,4

,

-0"by16'-5".hree

feet

toth erearofth ebarni s

an

outhouse

scaling4

feetby4

feet,

identified

a s"W.C."

Water:

othe westo f

th e

cottage,abouttenfeetaway,i sidentified

WellDry. "Spring"with

"Hand

Pump"appearsabout5 5feeteast

ofth edriveway,about15 0feetfrom

th efenceonBodegaAvenue.

Driveway

and

paths:

h edriveway

enters

th e

property

from

Bodega

Road

about60feet

t o

th e

left

of

th e

center

of

th e

cottage

andcurves

west

toth e

east

side

of

th e

cottage,

continuing

on

to

th e

barn.

path

leads

from

th e

cottage

toth e

west

property

line

andth egatetherein.

Another

path

runseast

and

west

alongth e

formerrearof

th e

property

(before

th e

south

five

acres

were

added).

notherpathleadsina

southeast

diagonalfromth ecottagetoa

pathalong

th e

entire,

or

south,

propertyline.

Otherfeatures""Six-inchWoodDrainCulvert"

is

showncarrying

runoff150

feet

to

Bodega

Roadfroma"catchbasin"adjacent

to

th e

driveway.

signi sidentified

about

50feet

back

fromBodega

Road,

tothe

west

o fand

adjacent

t oth edriveway.

t

i sidentifieda s

"Sign

Post

Private

Property.Grape

Arbor

i scalledoutnearth e

west

property

line:

Beginning

ofGrape

Vine

Arbor."

heendofi t

i s

not

locatedonth e

map,

but

th eplantingof

grapesruns

parallel

t o

th e

west

property

line

to

near

Bodega

Avenue

for

about

400

feet.

Plantings:

ome

of

th e

plantings

shown

on

th emapcanbefound

onth e

property

today(seeAppendixE ,a

mapping

done

in

1983).

lthough

there

arenow

largeelms

atth eold

entrance

gate,and

a

fir

clump

near

th e

west

propertyline

at

BodegaAvenue,the1912mapshowsno

such

trees

alongBodegaAvenue.heplantingsidentifiedon

th e

1912

map

show

someareasdevotedentirelytosmallplants;

bulbs,

annuals,

perennials,

egetables,oses,

rapes,ome

ornamentals,pineless

cactusandberries.ther

areas

are

devoted

to

trees,

but

in

some

plantings,small

plants

and

trees

alternated."weepingbirch"i s

indicated

onth eeast

side

ofth ecottageand

shows

inth earchival

photographs

also.

Burbank's

Declining

Work

with

Experimentation:

1923

-

1926

At

th e

time

o f

Burbank's

death,

there

were

on

th e

Farm

th e

"pick

o f

thousands"offruitsreadyto

be

introduced,accordingt oElizabeth.

Sh e

wentonto

explain,

As

time

went

on,th e

difficulty

of

selling

new

fruits

particularly

increased.

rchardists

waited

or

he

public

to

become

acquaintedwith

th e

new

introductions

before

they

would

plant

extensively...Nurserymen

have

full

atalogsandhesitatedt o

add

more"Elizabeth

Burbank,

"Carryingonfor

Luther

Burbank,"

The

Saturday

EveningPost,June28 ,1930,p .8).

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

17/35

G O L D

IDGE

A R M

(Luther

Bur-bank's

Experimenta r m

H A B S

o .

A- 2 2 5 4

page

6

Three

earsbeforehis

death, athe

age

of

4,

Burbank

amented

...My

trength

s

ood

or

yge,

ut

it

s

otwhat

it

used to

be.

sold part

of

the

Sebastopol

Experiment

Farm,

ecause

ould

o

onger

perate

it..

.It

as

old

o

emetery

ssociation,

nd

very

plant

n

t

s

eing

pulledpndurned

o

hat

he

tract

a y

elottedor

raves.

mong

he

housands

of

ew

nd

mproved

varieties

n

his

littlehree-acre

tract

ere

ore

han

0

ew

elected

hornless

blackberrie's,hat

ould

ave

eenorth

30,000

f

they

ad

een

ntroducedo

heorld.

n

ddition,

there

wereom e

0

varieties

f

ew

ybrid

osesrom

choiceollection,

ome

0

varieties

f

oquats,

large

umberfew

pples,

hestnuts,

lums,

eaches,

nectarines,

ahlias,

nd

o

n.

.

t

eemainderofhe

Farm]will

aveo

e

oldor

he

ame

eason.

n

he

13

sic,

t

a s

ctually

5 ]

cres

hat

re

eft

t

Sebastopol

re

,000

arieties

f

herries,

,000

varieties

f

lums,

0

r

0

inds

f

elected

chestnuts,

etween

00

nd

00

varieties

fpears,nd

5 0

r0arieties

f

quinces.

here

s

lso

walnut

tree

hat

or

anyears,

as

roduced

ach

ear,

$1,000worth

fwalnuts.

hisreesouperior

o

anythingelse

n

existence

hat

was

nce

equested

o

supplyenmillionoung

rees

iket

o

e

delivered,

onemillion ear

or

en

years.

fourse,hatwas

tooig

n

rderoeilled

rom

ne

ree.

ould

haveupplied

5,000

rees

year,

f

ad

eenble

to

uperintendhework,

n

addition

overything

else

I

ave

o

o.

ut

ave

upplied

only]

ew

thousands

Lutherurbank,

Sixty

ears

ithlant

Experiments, allstoga

eekly,

uly

7,

923.

Scrapbook

Vol.7,.0,

he

Papers

fLuther

Burbank,

Manuscriptvision,ibrary

f

ongress,ashington,

DC) .

Expressing

his

desireo findom eway

or

he

fruitsofhis labors

t

be

maintainedandutilized,Burbankwrote,

Iteemsoehathisarmhould

e

n

he

possession

f

a

tate

university

(Ibid).

Stanford

niversity

roposal.

t

a stanfordniversity

hichursu.ed

h

effort.

oundation

was

nvisioned

or

he

urpose,

nd proposa

was

ubmittedy

tanford

o

aise

ne

illion

ollars.

h

foundation

asoetheoleeansyhich

he

esearch

experimentation,

mprovementndcreation

n

he

plant

world

nitiate

anderfectedyhe

ate

uther

urbanka y

e

arried

orward

Claimed the

proposal,

Thealuef

he

lants

ndrees

s

lmostalf

millionollars.

heuther

BurbankFoundationwould

be

raised

in

tw o

hours

if

the

nurserymen

and

seedsmen

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

18/35

GOLDRIDGE

FARM

(LutherBurbank'sExperiment F a r m )

HABS N o .CA-2254 page

1 7 )

ofhisworldcoulddivideupth eproceedsfromt h e

sale

of

fruits,

nuts,vinesand

flowersnow

there,

and

from

th e

use

of

Luther

Burbank

records

and

formulas

continueth e

enterpriseonapurely

commercial

basis.

(Proposeduther

urbankoundationnh e

eland

StanfordJunior

niversity,

alifornia,

ndated,

he

Papers

o fLuther

Burbank,

ManuscriptDivision,Library

of

Congress,

Washington,D .

C.)

Anannouncement

n

ScienceMagazine

helps

ate

heroposal. On

August

1 1 ,

1925

th e

magazine

reported,

Tentative

plans

have

beenmade

by

Stanford

University

to

takeoverandperpetuate

th e

work

of

LutherBurbank,

according

to

anannouncement

madeby

WilliamGibbs

McAdoo,member

ofth eadvisory

boardinterested

in

t h e

project"Plansor

uther

urbank's

xperimental

Farm,"Science,.2 ,August

1 1 ,925,

p .

38,

T h e

Papers

o f

Luther

Burbank,

ManuscriptDivision,

Library

o f

Congress,

Washington,DC).

Burbank

Tries

toSell.

urbanklisted

th e

property

witha

realtor,

1924

flyer

directed

inquiries

to

W .

Lambert

Hill,

Healdsburg,California.

Theflyerontained

n

inventoryo fheproperty.uildingsre

listed

thus:five-roomhouse;packingshed,toolhouseand

stable."

Amenities

include:

"spring

of

running

water;

broad

view

o fSanta

Rosa

Valley,t.

elena,obb,aylor

ndennett

ountains,nd

overlooking

parts

of

Sonoma,

Lake,

Napa

andMarin

Counties.

ituated

about

200

feet

fromcity

limits

of

Sebastopolon

paved

highway

toth e

coast,

ight

mileswestofSanta

Rosa."

isted

plants

ranged

from

single

specimens

to

numbers

o f

"14,846

new

seedling

hybrid

chestnut

trees"

Th e

urbank

3-acre

sic],

oldridge

xperiment

arm,

Inventory,

January

1 ,

1 924photocopy,

Western

SonomaCounty

Historical

Society

Archives,

Sebastopol,

California).

Burbank'sDeath.utherBurbankdieda tth eage

o f7 7on

April

1 0 ,

926

with

th e

future

of

th eFarmunresolved.

Stark

Bros.

Involvement

Lease:tanfordwas

nsuccessfuln

establishing

he

oundation,

ndhe

propertywas

leased

by

Stark

Bros.

Nurseries

and

Orchards

Company.

The

irst

ease

greement

as

igned

n

ugust

3,

927

it h

Elizabeth.

his

first

lease

paidElizabeth

$5,000,

plus

$1,000

per

year

for15

years

for

Stark

t o

receive"thebusiness,name,andgood

will

of

anyand

all

seed

and

bulb

business..."

and

to

b e

"the

sole

authorized

istributor

futherurbank's

eeds

nd

ulbs"

(Sonoma

County

Office

o f

th e

Recorder,Book

182,p .8 2 ) .

nother

agreementwassignedin

th e

next

month,

onSeptember6 ,

1927.

or

$100

er

year,

tprovided

tark

Bros,

th e

xclusive

right...to

conduct,

carry

on,

and

complete

certainexperimentalworkwith

trees

andplants,

begunbyth elateLuther

Burbank,...and

th e

right

totest,

name,anddistributetoth epublicnewvarietiesof

trees

andplants

perfected

by

said

Luther

Buibankduringh islifetime,and

also

th e

right

o

test,

arry

n ,

n d .

complete

experiments

of

said

uther

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

19/35

G O L DIDGEA R M

Luther

ur-bank sxperiment

arm

H A B S

o.

CA-2254

page8

Burbanknrees

nd

plants

ncompleted

t

he

ime

fhis

eath..."

This

greement

oesn

o

efer

otheoung

pple

rchardownen

acres,

ore

r

ess,

f

aidproperty."his

s

heirstmention

partfhepropertybeingonverted

o

n

pple

rchard

nd

ndicates

it

began

during

Burbank's

lifetime.

he

agreement

stipulates

Elizabeth's

wnership

nd

ontrol

f

he

ppleorchard,

ut

grantss

ofhe

and

etween

he

ows

freesndhelants

now

tanding

there."

his

greement

lsoranted

tark

ros.,

or

2,000,

al

rights

o

ewarieties

f

ruits

ndlants,

othompletednd

uncompleted

xperimentsf

he

ate

utherurbank,

otet

t

he

date

f

his

ontract

ntroducedo

hepublic*..withhexception

the

Royal

nd

aradox

walnuts.

1

lants

old

y

Stark

wereo

provide

oyalty

olizabethf

hreeentser

lant

or

lants

sellingver

ne

dollar

ach

nd

hree

percent

f

ales

f

hose

nde

oneollar

ach.

ropagation

y

tark

rom

reeslreadyntroduced

did

otequire

oyalty

S o n om a

County

Office

f

he

Recorder,

ook

260,

p.

315).

Stark

ros*

enewedheir

eases

ntil

957,

hennugust

2,

terminationgreement

as

ignedSonomaountyfficefhe

Recorder, Bo o k

2588,

p. 752).

Thusurbank'sormer

us

toraerook

ver

he

urbank

xperimen

propertiesor

0

ears.

tark

ros.urserieslaimedhat

urban

had

selected

it:

On

he

aturdayeforeeied,utherBurbankaid

o

his

wife:If

nything

appens

ome,

ouwillave

o

dispose

f

he

business

nd

he

work,

ecause

ou

can't

go

n

with

t.

here

ren't

ozen

organizations

n

the

world

hat

re

quipped

o

o

nything

witht;

f

them

here

s

nly

ne anhink

f

hatwould

eally

make

he

ost

f

t. eamedhetarkros,

organization

The

toryf

Trust:

o whe

LifeWo r k

of

uther

urbank

a sandedn,reggerapers,

undated,.,

ypewritten,

utherurbank

arm

File,

SebastopolCity

Hall,

Sebastopol,

California).

Stark

Bros,

concluded

heirtory

y

stating:

This

ittle

ooklet

a s

ritten

o

how

ow

difficult

and

elicate

a s

he

ask

f

inding

he

roper

organization

o

arrynheork

f

he

reat

lant

master...StarkBros,et

he

est

nvery

particular.

Stark

Bros,

ere

hosen

o

arry

n

he

work

Ibid,

.

8).

In

heirnthusiasm,tarkponsored eriesf5adioalksbou

Burbank's

work.opies

f

hecripts

are

ndated,

ut

RadioStation

KMOX

s

entioned

Ibid,

reggerapers).

tarkBros,ooub

enhanced

heirtatus

hrough

heir

ewssociation

ith

urbank's

heritage inplants.

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

20/35

-

G O L D

I D G E

A R M

Luther

Burbank'sExperiment

a r m )

H A B So.CA - 2 2 5 4 page

9)

Starkros.ctive

eriod,

927o936.tarkenthreeorticulturistst

different timeso

Gold

Ridge

Farms.

JohnBregger.ohnBregger,tark

Bros.

1

irstorticulturist,

rrived

n

ay

3,

927.regger

a s

n

harge

f

Stark'srchardesearchdepartment

when

e

was

iven

he

pportunity

o

work

at

Gold

Ridge

arm.

regger

described

hisunction:

Ivaluated

llheplantmaterials

hat

were

eft.

described

ver

00varieties

flum

n

ne

ear.e

[Burbank]ad

rafted

n

hese

reeso

5

varieties

on

ach

ree

own

he

ine,

o

here

was

whalef

lot

f

ariety.George

Hower,

Horticulturistecalls

Burbank's

enius, anta

osa

ress

emocrat,

une

,

1977).

According

o

Bregger,tarkBros,ntended

ocontinue

reedingwork,

more

r

ess

n

he

a y

e

Burbank]

id

t

Ibid),

ut

he

depression

alted

hose

plans.

owever,

tark

id

ontinue

he

catalogingndendingfmaterialack to

Stark's

Missourinursery.

Breggeraidhathereasracticallyothingnhe

ay

f

furnituren

he

ottage

hen

e

rrived

Johnregger,

nterview,

June

1,

1977).

NewellVanderbilt.ewell

anderbilt,

n

929,ook

ver

romregger.

Vanderbilt

a s

riend

furbank'snd

elphinium

ybridizer

workingnanafael,bout5milesouth

f

ebastopol.

e

commuted

to

theFarmo continue

Stark'sendeavors-

T he

asthorticulturist

o

arry

n

hework

a s

oseph

Keil,

ho

with

hisamily, was to settle

nto

hecommunity formany

ears.

The

most

omplete

description

f

hecottage

his

ime

s

ontained

in

etter

romVanderbiltoKeil.

hedescriptiona sccompanied

by

ketch

Appendix

F).om e

highlights

f

he

description

nclude,

"Allouseuite

ew,

enovated.

ood

aper,tc..unusually

ell

lightedwith

windows.

e

also

mentions

he

ireplace,

lass

oorsn

the

north

nd

outh

ntrances

nd

athroom

withtandardixtures,

as

ell

s

n

lectric

ange,

ooler

loset,

nd

inset

rom

outh

kitchen

all

s

ronoard

nd

r opdownmallreakfast

able."

Vanderbilt

escribed

edroom

urniture

eft

ehind

nd

elonging

o

Bregger.

e

oted

he

eed

or

epairs

o

he

lectric

heater

nd

range

nd

or

window

hades,

iving

oomurniturend

ulinary

equipment

Vanderbilt

o

eil,ecember2,930,

estern

o n oma

County

HistoricalSociety

Archives,

Sebastopol,California).

JosephKeil*

n

une

f931,oseph

Keil

oved

nto

he

cottage

with

his

wife

Gertrude,

on

Richardnd

aughters

Elizabethnd

anet.

edded

room

o thesouth

fhe

ottage.

PlantRecord.

oseph

eil

ontinuedhe

ataloging

ndroduced

ypewritten

(with

aughterlizabeth's

elp),

ocumentation.

t

as

oused

n

binder

and

has

been

recently

donated

to

Western

S o n om a

County

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

21/35

G O L D

IDGE

A R MLutherBurbank'sExperiment

a r m )

H A B S

o .

A -225 4 page

0)

Historical

ociety

rchives.

he

ocument

s

itled

aster

ecord

Burbank

Experimental

Farm-

ebastopol,

alifornia.

ruit,rnamental

and

MiscellaneousPlanting*

he

itleheetcreditsriginaly

J..

Keil,

opy

ylizabeth.

eil

931.

nheocument,ruit

rees

are

harted

ow

y

ow.

ranch

ocations

f

grafts

re

escribed

y

compass

ositionsnd

uchwordssower,pperndmain.

he

ates

of

heloom

periodsnd

ipeperiods

re

alled

out.

heataloging

ofreasfmallplantsnd

miscellaneoushrubsistplantsy

ow

and

yhequantityndeither

botanical

r

o mm o n

ame.

atalog

sectionnblueberriessetp

oprovide

more

nformation

nach

plant

hanhe

estfhe

atalog.

ize,orm,lavor,

escription

of

lant

orm,rop

ize

nd

omments

rencluded.

o.

-17,

or

example,sipe

/18,

farge

ize,

ound

blate

orm,f

ild

subacidlavor,

ediumush,

avingery

eavy

rop

ndronze

foliage. This

is

done

for

some

2 60blueberryplants.

The

roperty

nd

heir

ives

n

t

were

escribed

n

nterviews

with

Richard

eil,

is

other

ertrude

nd

ister

lizabeth

eil

lark.

T hebuildings

nhe

property

describedyhe

Keils

wereheottage,

the

arn

nd

uthouse.

he

glassouse

hownnhe91 2a p

was

ot

in

existance

when

heKeilsrrived.

ichard

aid

he

arn

adtalls

withliding

oors

or

ourorses.hedrywell

hown

n

heap

hadeenonvertedntorickcistern,hreeoour

eet

cross,

butt

ad

eenrackedince

he906

arthquake.

he

eils

illed

it

ith

anning

ars

f

ld

r

poiledruit.

We

ad

rought

rom

Missouriarge

quantity

f

annedruit.on't

nowhy,

here

was

o

much

here...fruitell

ff

he

reesy

he

on."he

cistern

isot

iscernible

ow,

he

oots

f

ucalyptus

reeplantedbou

six

r

ighteetway

y

Gertrude

aso

oubtbliteratedt.

Richard

aid

hey

arried

n

ater

or

omestic

se

n

7-gallon

tank

n

heir

uto's

unning

oard.

he

oilet

as

eldom

sed;

according

to

Keil,

they

sed

heuthouse.

Keilescribed

ow

om erees

were

planted

n

beds

ometimesnly

ne

foot

part.om evidencef

hat

emains

oday.

xperimental

rees

plantedithontentionfheireaching

maturity

row

ownhe

farmrowded

nd in

narrowows

(SeePhotographs

7,

20, 21).

A

most

emarkable

actbout

he

a rm

washat

itwas

ot

necessaryo

irrigate.

hisas

rue

t

east

hroughheeriod

f

he

tark

Bros.

1

ctive

nvolvement,

ccording

o

eil.

ith

heopulation

increase

n

he

rea,

he

water

able

s

o

oubt

ower.

lants

dded

to

the

property todayequire irrigation.

Asked

f

tark

id

ny

actualplant

reeding,

eileplied,

Weid

littlexperimentation

ryingoind pollenizeror

ed

plumhat

Stark

was

namored

with.

ead

ne

reewithageto

eep

ees

fromollenating

t],

e

would

ake

ollen

rom

others,

ut

t

wouldn't

pollenate."

A s

outh,

ichard

elped

is

athern

he

a r^n

ndturbank

Gardens

nanta

Rosa.e

escribedheirnvolvement.is

ather

wa s

n

ullalary

or

ne

nd

ne-half

years,

hen

or

hort

period

on

one-third

salary.

In

1934,

Keil

also

worked

for

Burpee

Seed

7/21/2019 Luthar Burbank 0945 20140527

22/35

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GOLDRIDGEFARM

(LutherBurbank'sExperiment F a r m )

HABS

N o .

CA-2254 page2 1 )

Company,

who h ad

bought

Stark'sinterest

inth e

seed

and

bulbpart

of

Burbank's

legacy-

h islasted

for

two

years.

or

theduration

of

Stark's

lease

of

th e

property,"We

were

given