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Shadelands Ranch was established by Hiram Penniman, an early American settler of California in 1856 as one of the first and largest farms in California's Ygnacio Valley. Penniman arrived in California in 1853 and three years later purchased of land from EncarnaciĆ³n Pacheco, daughter of Juana Sanchez de Pacheco, then owner of Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones from which the were taken. Penniman planted a variety of fruit and nuts, including peaches, pears, apricots, grapes, almonds, and walnuts, as well as prunes, which served as Penniman's most important and most profitable crop. The original name of Penniman's ranch was "Shadelands Fruit Farm". Hiram Penniman fell ill in January 1897 and care and oversight of the ranch became largely the responsibility of Penniman's oldest daughter, Mary. The ranch fell on hard times with a drop in the price of crops and Mary had to depend on the charity of her sister Bessie's wealthy husband to take care of many of the ranch's financial concerns. When Hiram finally died, ownership of the ranch passed to Mary, then subsequently to Bessie after Mary's death. Bessie and her husband Albert Johnson mainly managed the ranch from afar, as Albert's business concerns lay mainly in distant Chicago. In 1921, Bessie hired Edmund Moyer to reside at the ranch with his family and supervise it. Bessie died in 1943 in a car accident, and not long after, Albert himself became severely ill. In 1947, with an eye to his own mortality, Albert Johnson formed the Gospel Foundation, an organization meant to oversee his extensive assets after his death. Johnson died in 1948 of cancer, and deeded all his property to the Gospel Foundation, including Shadelands. The Gospel Foundation continued to administer Shadelands until 1970, when they gave the remaining of land and the ranch house to the city of Walnut Creek, California. Today it is managed by the Walnut Creek Historical Society, and has been open to the public since 1972 as a historical museum, the ranch house still furnished with much of the Pennimans' original furniture. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The Shadelands Ranch House was the perfect venue for our wedding. After issues with our original venue, and being a little over 2 months out from our wedding, Shadelands luckily had a cancellation... Read more
We had our 150-ppl wedding here June 2022. This place is gorgeous!!! I found it on yelp and so glad I did. The grounds are beautiful and very well kept. I worked with Jackie the entire time and... Read more
A total Walnut Creek gem! The Shadelands Museum is owned and operated by the Walnut Creek Historical society. The museum was once home to Walnut Creek Pioneer Hiram Penniman. The home was built... Read more
Shadelands Ranch Museum
Hours
- Sun, Wed: 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
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