Bay Area REBlog

Rancho Shopping Center replaced the farmhouse of Henry Cook Campbell, who grew peaches, plums, apricots and walnuts on the surrounding 100 acres. The arrival of the railroad and the discovery that it took only five or ten acres of orchard to support a family led to subdivision of the ranch into ever smaller lots.

The Rancho neighborhood is bounded by Foothill Expressway, Parma Way, Riverside Drive and Springer Road. It retains the curved streets and comfortable houses built with the shopping center in 1951 by the late Christian Wilder.

Many houses in the neighborhood have been remodeled, but Wilder trademarks remain – board-and-batten siding, bricks, thick shake roofs, dovecote details on the garage and metal windows flanked by wooden shutters.

Lots are generally a quarter acre, without sidewalks or street lights, designed to preserve the small town feel. The Rancho area has the benefit of proximity to six public schools covering the spectrum from kindergarten through high school.