A Historic Look at the Rhoades Ranch
Rarely does one place have so much history and contemporary impact . The Rhoades Ranch is one of those places . There is evidence of early Indian inhabitants but the main focus of this article is the people , the buildings and impact on agriculture in California .
Currently the property is a 12-acre site at the base of Anderson Dam . It was once part of a much larger 160-acre ranch . This property was subdivided from the 1860 ’ s Mexican era Rancho Laguna Seca .
On the current site there are five residential buildings , two barns , the remnants of a water tower , and small accessory garages and ancillary buildings . Oldest is the Phegley House built in the 1860s . While renovated in the twentieth century , the Phegley House maintains the distinctive 1860 ’ s character and composition . It is a two-story National folk house with single-wall construction . The Phegley House is a sub-type of National folk houses know as I-Houses , characterized by two-story buildings two rooms wide and one deep , often with rear extensions .
Another building of significance is the large Horse Barn also built around 1860 . It is rectangular in size and one-and-one-half stories high . It is front and rear gabled with upstairs hay storage and sliding doors on both ends . The siding is a wide-board v-grove profile that is not usually found in Santa Clara County . The siding may represent a transition to channel-rustic siding , which became the norm soon thereafter . The windows are tall 6 / 6 double hung with thin mullions typical of the mid 1860s .
Only the remnants of the pre-1920s water tower exist . The original siding and tank are gone . Early 1920s photos show the once large water tower .
The Rhoades House and garage was finished in 1920 and was designed by the architectural firm of Hogtie and Hill . The house is an excellent example of the Spanish eclectic style that relates to the Spanish Colonial Revival style . The mostly square footprint surrounds an interior courtyard . A portion of the house has an L-shaped second story . There is a roof top deck accessible from the second floor . The roof is Spanish tile and a tile decorative feature wraps the house . The house sits in a grove of Oaks overlooking the former ranch property . Most windows are multipaned and with arched tops .
Over the years , Rhoades Ranch occupants have had a significant impact on local , state and national issues . James F . Phegley ( 1838-1915 ), a rancher and early owner , served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors from 1887-1891 .
Ira Osborne ( IO ) Rhoades a former railroadpurchasing agent was involved in state leadership positions with the California Prune and Apricot Growers Association , which is now known as Sunsweet . The Rhoades family owned and operated the ranch from 1911 to 1945 .
Dr . Harold E . Thomas ( 1900-1986 ), who also lived in the Rhoades House , was a professor of plant pathology at the University of California . He founded and directed the non-profit Strawberry Institute of California . He is called the “ Father of the California Strawberry Industry .” His commercial venture , Strawberry Institute Nursery , eventually merged with Driscoll Strawberry Associates . Dr . Thomas and his research assistant , Earl V . Goldsmith , changed the character and scope of strawberry production in California .
Mr . & Mrs . James Phegley ( circa 1910 )
2014 Update : With the planned seismic retrofit to Anderson Dam and consequent rerouting of Cochran Road , it is very likely that the horse barn and some other buildings on the Rhoades Ranch will be relocated to new locations on the Rhoades Ranch .
32
M O R G A N H I L L T O D A Y S P R I N G 2 0 1 4