The Town of Los Altos Hills was incorporated on January 27, 1956.
Before then, residential development was constrained by numerous
factors, including lack of a dependable water supply. Water from
wells and creek beds was safe but not always adequate. Headwaters
for Hale, Adobe, Barron, Matadero, Purissima, and Deer Creeks
are generated in local foothills with heavily wooded banks and
often impenetrable areas of poison oak and chaparral. Homes and
farms were usually on large acreage. The region's personality
was distinctly rural. In 1956, the many advocates for incorporating
the city as "The Town of Los Altos Hills" were singularly
dedicated to "preservation of the rural atmosphere of the
foothills."
Please click the links below for the Stonebrook Court presentation.
Lantarnam Hall, named after the town of Llantarnam, Wales, was
designed by Bay Area architect John Powers for Percy Morgan, descended
from Welsh immigrants, and his wife Daisy, and completed in 1916.
Furnished with European art objects and furniture, the house was
patterned after Speke Hall, Lancashire, England.
Subsequent owners included restaurateurs, Depression-era cleric
Father Divine, and - almost - madam Belle Silver, whose check
for the $200,000 purchase was no good. In 1952 John Carter Ford
bought the house and renovated it for a day school. It reverted
to private ownership in 1988.
The Lantarnam Hall, operated for many years as Ford Country Day
School.
This
was the home of Willard Griffin, a founder of Del Monte Packing.
The brown-shingled house, situated near the entrance of Foothill
College, was bought for the college in the late 1950s.
Friends of Griffin House have offered to work with the District
to develop a viable plan that meets the Districts facilities
requirements as well as its financial constraints. What happens
next may be influenced by the community.
Photo courtesy of Ralston
Independent Works©
Please click here
for From Del Monte Corporation to Griffin House in Los Altos Hills
presentation
Adobe
Creek Lodge, an English country-style mansion, was built by Consolidated
Chemicals vice-president Milton Haas in 1935.
It was a destination resort in the 1940s. Vacationers could stay
for a day, and hold weddings and picnics. Bandleaders Jimmy Dorsey
and Harry James played here under the stars.
The property went from a private to a commercial resort and then
to a private club. The former restaurant building is a guesthouse
today.
Photo courtesy of Ralston
Independent Works©
In
1924 Frank and Joseph Duveneck established Hidden Villa on 1,600
acres of open space in the Los Altos Hills. The property now sponsors
environmental and educational programs, a multicultural summer
camp, a hostel, a communal garden, and day-use visits.
The White House, at Hidden Villa, now a private residence for
interns, dates from the 1860's, when it was built as a stagecoach
stop and inn. The former Duveneck house has been restored and
includes some original artifacts forged by Frank Duveneck himself.
Photo courtesy of Ralston
Independent Works©
Please click here
for Josephine and Frank Duveneck Life, Part 1
Please click here
for Josephine and Frank Duveneck Life, Part 2
We offer this program on pioneer Los Altos Hills businessman
and family man William MacGregor Cranston. I imagine everyone
here has heard of and perhaps voted for United States Senator
Alan Cranston, Democrat from California, who represented California
in the Senate for 24 years, the longest period of any senator
since Hiram Johnson. William Cranston was therefore the father
of a famous son, but to a lesser degree, the reverse is true:
Alan Cranston was the son of a prominent father, whose legacy
is visible today in Palo Alto and on the peninsula.