A New Locality by M. C. W.

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Sep 22, 1909

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 37.

A New Locality

By M. C. W.

For years the headquarters of education among Seventh-day Adventists in California was Healdsburg. For reasons which we need not name here it was thought best to remove the school from there. A good site was supposed to have been found near Sonoma, but as clear title could not be secured, this was abandoned. Since that, the committee in charge have made diligent search, and only quite recently has a property been found which indeed offers advantages far above the ordinary. The writer, having heard of this, felt that it was a privilege as well as a duty to visit the property and report to the readers of this paper.

This immense ranch, consisting of 1,600 acres, is located on the top of Howell Mountain. It has great springs in abundance. It might be called “The Ranch of a Hundred Springs,” with a hundred more perhaps which could be developed. There are five hydraulic rams on the place, and it seemed to us that sufficient power could be developed to run an electric plant. A large alfalfa field is irrigated, and much water runs to waste.

There are 100 acres or more in good cultivation, some of this very rich valley land, with a soil from ten to twenty feet in depth. There are pears, peaches, prunes, quinces, apples, berries, grapes in abundance, with plenty of opportunity for enlarging the fruit section.

There are other parts of the great mountain ranch which consist of equally good soil if it were cleared.

It has a fine horse barn, 64 x 76 feet, a large cow barn, 70 x 90 feet, and a fairly good storage barn, 40 x 40 feet. There are something like ten or twelve buildings on the ranch, all of them in excellent condition; the main building costing over $20,000. It has twenty-nine rooms, besides parlor, halls, kitchen, laundry, etc. There is a large amusement hall which can very easily be converted into chapel and recitation rooms.

One of the fine attractions of the place is a large swimming tank, or swimming bath, connected with which are regular tub baths. The size of the tank alone is 40 x 100 feet. All of the water which is used for the baths is not wasted, but can be used for irrigation purposes, and all the spring and other water on the great ranch is wonderfully soft and sweet, with the exception of one spring which contains more or less mineral. One of the spring reservoirs is 14 x 70 feet, a large flowing spring of unknown depth, the water clear, sweet, and pure.

There are nineteen horses upon the ranch; about twenty cows; twelve to fourteen vehicles of different kinds, including a large water-wagon for sprinkling purposes. The buildings are under a fine system of sewerage. Traps for toilets, sinks, etc., are modern. There is a gas plant for 150 lights.

There is an abundance of standing timber upon the place, of good quality, consisting of pine, fir, and redwood. This is estimated all the way from three millions to ten millions of feet. The last estimate is by an old mill man who has had much practical experience in timber. There is a vast amount of wood besides the standing timber, estimated at from three hundred thousand to one million cords.

We did not have time to visit the larger

part of the outlying acres, but within ten minutes’ walk of the ranch we found large pines four and five feet through; one white oak measured sixteen feet three inches in circumference, and a walnut-tree grown from a single nut planted in 1890 measured six feet and one inch in circumference. These are characteristic of the place in general and speak wonderfully for the fertility of the soil. The amount paid for the place was $60,000. The buildings and piping must have cost all that was paid for the great ranch. It has been for years a mountain resort and summer hotel.

A General View Across the Field to Cottages Nestling Among the Trees

The estimable gentleman, Mr. Angwin, who has kept it for years, is himself a mechanic, one of the old-fashioned kind, who believed in keeping everything in first-class shape; but years have crept upon him; and he feels that he must retire, and for his children’s sake get out into the towns. His own heart is upon the ranch, because there his life-work has been. The resort is well known throughout California. “Angwin’s” is not only the name of the hotel, but of the post-office as well. The amount of standing timber and wood upon the place is in itself more than an ordinary endowment.

The healthful surroundings, the beauty of nature, the work that can be furnished the students in manual labor, together with a good strong faculty in all different departments of college education, furnish one of the grandest opportunities that has ever come under the observation of the writer. We almost wish that we were young again, to throw ourselves into the work of the school; not only in obtaining an education in the sciences and in letters, but in the practical way of doing things which would make one’s work more effective for all future life.

The present board of control consists of Elder H. W. Cottrell, Prof. C. W. Irwin, Elder W. T. Knox, Elder S. N. Haskell, and Elder A. O. Tait. The faculty thus far chosen is made up as follows: Prof. C. W. Irwin, Prof. George W. Rine, Elder A. O. Tait, Miss Hattie Andre, and Mrs. Irwin; and by this time probably others.

Accommodations can be furnished for more than 100 students now without further building. There are five cottages besides the main building. The main building will furnish rooms for the young ladies’ dormitory; and the cottages outside, for young men.

It seems to us that the location itself, the surroundings, the board of control, the faculty, the grand opportunity for an all-around education, ought to appeal to every parent and to every young person of school age in California.

The first student on the ground, it is worthy of note, is Mr. Elbert Ashbaugh, and the second prospective student on the ground as soon as he is old enough, was the son of the editor.

The accompanying illustrations will give somewhat of a faint idea of the premises.

M. C. W.