The History of Silver Penny Farm
Tied to the origins of Sonoma County
The property was part of General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo’s 66,000 acre ranchero, “acquired” from the native Alaguala Nation in 1834. There was a huge demand in San Francisco for fresh food to feed the Gold Rush population which was growing very quickly with the discovery of gold in northern California and Vallejo helped to fill that demand. The land was cultivated to supply grain for his expanding cattle operation.
Original “Mother House” 1840. Just north of the deck outside.
General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo.
Original house in 1899, which included the present dining room, part of the kitchen and first three upstairs bedrooms.
A growing town
In 1859, William Bihler purchased the 8,000 acres, the growing town of Lakeville grew around this farm and attracted Irish immigrants to the area who worked the farms and established a close-knit community. The town of Lakeville thrived in the late 1800’s because a steamboat stop near our property was developed into a transit hub for people headed north by stagecoach.
Prominent families throughout the years
Edith White, born at Silver Penny Farm in 1886, became captain in the Pacific Coast Woman’s Motor Corps during World War I. The Goldie family purchased the farm in the1960s, who helped establish the Fire Station fund the Lakeville Highway firestation. It was the William Randolph Hearst III family who named the farm Silver Penny after a beloved children’s poetry book after they acquired the property in the early 1970s. They developed the gardens and lived in the house, using the water tower as an office and art studio.
A legacy of stewardship & conservation
In1986 the Hearst family donated the property to the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The Church turned the property into a retreat center which is why there are so many bedrooms in the mansion and six cottages on the grounds. It operated as a retreat center until the late 2005 when a ranching family, the Cardoza’s, purchased it from the Church. From 2005 to 2019, Rita and Marvin Cardoza farmed the Silver Penny property, along with the 3000 acres that is now Tolay Lake Regional Park.
The current owners bought Silver Penny Farm from the Cardoza family for the purpose of creating workforce housing and opening the Farmhouse to conservation groups for meetings and retreats. The land is currently feeding pastured sheep and hosts honey hives of honey bees for Sola Bee. Since 2019, the property has also been equipped with solar power and is being transitioned to all electric.
Edith White
Photo of Father Ray Smith who helped run the farm for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
