| Historic Nelson Ranch & Cattle Co. est. 1868 |
Historic Nelson Ranch was a cattle ranch built in 1868 in Yolo County by
Camillus Nelson. The house is 5,000 square foot brick Italianate. Both
the house and the estate are on the National Register. The gabled roof
feature, built in air condition system and brick makes this house unique.
The house was built before cement, and the brick floats on a sand
composition.
In 2000 the City of Woodland at the direction of City Council, Army Corp of
Engineers and FEMA attempted to build a flood barrier, now known as
the "Flood Wall". The Flood Wall would have flood over 5,000 acres of
Class one soil, some of the best soil left in the county and California.
The ranch and house would have been taken by the Corp of Engineers,
due to the depth of flooding. As a result of community outrage residents
both in the county and city worked together and wrote the Floodwall
inititive that prevented. Thank you to Nancy Lea for her efforts along with
other community leaders, farmers and residents that kept the politicians
in the City of Woodland from destroying the 3,000 acres of agricultural
land out here. Out ballot measure passed by a 70% vote. A Supervisor
representing this area who supported the developer driven Floodwall
was also replaces. While we still need to repair Cache Creek, the
Historic Nelson Ranch, surrounding agricultural community (Class 1
soil) and neighbors are today protected from the threat of the wall.
Camillus Nelson. The house is 5,000 square foot brick Italianate. Both
the house and the estate are on the National Register. The gabled roof
feature, built in air condition system and brick makes this house unique.
The house was built before cement, and the brick floats on a sand
composition.
In 2000 the City of Woodland at the direction of City Council, Army Corp of
Engineers and FEMA attempted to build a flood barrier, now known as
the "Flood Wall". The Flood Wall would have flood over 5,000 acres of
Class one soil, some of the best soil left in the county and California.
The ranch and house would have been taken by the Corp of Engineers,
due to the depth of flooding. As a result of community outrage residents
both in the county and city worked together and wrote the Floodwall
inititive that prevented. Thank you to Nancy Lea for her efforts along with
other community leaders, farmers and residents that kept the politicians
in the City of Woodland from destroying the 3,000 acres of agricultural
land out here. Out ballot measure passed by a 70% vote. A Supervisor
representing this area who supported the developer driven Floodwall
was also replaces. While we still need to repair Cache Creek, the
Historic Nelson Ranch, surrounding agricultural community (Class 1
soil) and neighbors are today protected from the threat of the wall.
Historic Nelson Ranch, Today
Historic Nelson Ranch & Cattle Co. est. 1868
| Historic Nelson Ranch Story |
We are truly blessed to be able to live here. We enjoy sharing this amazing place with the community. Today the ranch is once again a cattle
ranch. It is a serene setting where you can listen to the wind in the trees and imagine life in the 1800's.
The Yolo County Fair held its livestock and horse show at the ranch in 2006 and we host the annual county team roping competition. World
famous clinicians have visited here. Including world champion's Les Vogt, Mike Beers, Rick Rersacchi, Walt Woodard & Lise Von Uhlit.
The use of the ranch and arenas are donated at no cost for use by non-profits to hold events. We hold events for the 4H, training for the Yolo
County Sheriff's Posse, host the annual fund raiser barn dance for the Sheriff's.
We bring out intercity youth and children living in foster care and group homes. Many of these children have never seen a horse or cow. The
horses are a great therapy for abused children to learn to attach and trust, again. We work children from Yolo County C.A.S.A & Woodland Youth
Services. All of this is done at no charge.
Other accomplishments include allowing the Los Caporales, a group committed to the Charo traditions and native dance hold functions to help
raise money to upgrade their facility when certain City of Woodland Council members tried to shut them down, to allow for development of their
arena.
We produce multiple English and Western horse shows, team roping's and events each year, with the money raised going to the Breast Cancer
Foundation and Susan G. Komen foundation.
People use the ranch to hold their weddings. It is also used by various schools to teach children about farming and ranching and life in the 1800's.
There is a lot of habitat including pheasants, quail, protected Swainson Hawks, Giant Garter Snakes, bats, Foxes, owls and bob cats. The old
trees are used by screech owls and it is a spectacular site in the evening to watch 8-10 launch out the trees, just like in the Harry Potter movies.
Our most famous visitors are the ghosts. Stories abound and there have even been a few sightings.
ranch. It is a serene setting where you can listen to the wind in the trees and imagine life in the 1800's.
The Yolo County Fair held its livestock and horse show at the ranch in 2006 and we host the annual county team roping competition. World
famous clinicians have visited here. Including world champion's Les Vogt, Mike Beers, Rick Rersacchi, Walt Woodard & Lise Von Uhlit.
The use of the ranch and arenas are donated at no cost for use by non-profits to hold events. We hold events for the 4H, training for the Yolo
County Sheriff's Posse, host the annual fund raiser barn dance for the Sheriff's.
We bring out intercity youth and children living in foster care and group homes. Many of these children have never seen a horse or cow. The
horses are a great therapy for abused children to learn to attach and trust, again. We work children from Yolo County C.A.S.A & Woodland Youth
Services. All of this is done at no charge.
Other accomplishments include allowing the Los Caporales, a group committed to the Charo traditions and native dance hold functions to help
raise money to upgrade their facility when certain City of Woodland Council members tried to shut them down, to allow for development of their
arena.
We produce multiple English and Western horse shows, team roping's and events each year, with the money raised going to the Breast Cancer
Foundation and Susan G. Komen foundation.
People use the ranch to hold their weddings. It is also used by various schools to teach children about farming and ranching and life in the 1800's.
There is a lot of habitat including pheasants, quail, protected Swainson Hawks, Giant Garter Snakes, bats, Foxes, owls and bob cats. The old
trees are used by screech owls and it is a spectacular site in the evening to watch 8-10 launch out the trees, just like in the Harry Potter movies.
Our most famous visitors are the ghosts. Stories abound and there have even been a few sightings.
| Cache Creek Casino, Three Feathers Ranch Team comes to our events - (photo Yolo County Fair Horse Show 2006) |
| Old Cottonwoods Line Driveway |
Intercity Youth Group & C.A.S.A. - Party 2008 for Older Children Without Families. They all got stockings with lots of presents.
The property has a rich Yolo county history with the original owner having over 3,000 acres of land. This land and estate was donated
to UC Davis. The family holdings once included Nelson's Grove, Best Ranch and other famous Yolo County Landmarks.
| HNR-Historic Nelson Ranch TM -"Official"Web Site copyright 2007-2009 - Designed by Brenda Cedarblade [email protected] |
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