Forest Home Farms
Park Hours:
Sunday & Monday – closed
Tuesday – Saturday – 10am – 4pm
Gift Shoppe hours: Saturdays 11am – 2pm
In 1997, Ruth Quayle Boone bequeathed the 16-acre Boone family farm known as Forest Home Farms to the City of San Ramon for use as a municipal historic park in memory of her husband, Travis Moore Boone. After Ruth Boone’s death in 1998 at the age of 94, the city expanded the memorial to include Ruth, in honor of her generosity to the people of San Ramon and in recognition of the contribution women made to agriculture in the San Ramon Valley.
In light of the recent widespread development of agricultural lands for residential subdivisions in Contra Costa County and the rise of land values, the gift was extraordinary. Frequently approached by developers who wished to purchase the farm for subdivision, Mrs. Boone chose instead to preserve Forest Home Farms in perpetuity and give this large parcel of land to the people of San Ramon so that they too could enjoy the beauty of the site. The city accepted the property with the vision and foresight to recognize its potential as regional open space that could provide recreational and educational opportunities in the rapidly changing landscape of Contra Costa County.
The 16-acre farm is located at the base of the hills on the west side of San Ramon. Oak Creek divides it in two almost equal parts. The northern portion of the site contains all of the structures built or used by the Boones, except for the cistern that sits atop a hill on the southwest corner. The structures include the Boone’s home, a twenty-two room Dutch Colonial house and a number or barns and outbuildings.
Historical Status
In June of 2002 Forest Home Farms was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical Resources. Placement on the Register affords the property the honor of inclusion in the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation and recognition of the historical value of the property. It provides a degree of protection from adverse effects, with state oversight for any modifications to insure consistency with historical preservation. Registration also provides some incentives for preservation of historic properties, including special building codes and opportunities for grant funding earmarked for such properties.
Forest Home Farms and its 21 individual structures qualified for this recognition in three categories:
- Agricultural development from 1930 to 1950, specifically honoring the creative development of equipment by Travis Boone;
- Representation of the distinctive characteristics of the evolution of a farm complex from 1850 to 1950, including distinctive structures such as the Dutch Colonial Boone House, the 1850’s hand hewn barn and the Italianate David Glass House; and
- Representation of period architecture in the Italianate Victorian David Glass House and adjacent tank house, which was built in 1877 and moved to the property in 1999.
National Register listing is not easily or lightly obtained, with rigorous requirements regarding the extent the property is historically significant and extensive review by state historians. With it comes the expectation that the historical integrity of the facility will be historically maintained. Forest Home Farms is a very special jewel in the City of San Ramon’s park system.
The San Ramon Historic Foundation is a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation. Memberships are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Ole 1850’s Barn
Now the Foundation has finished the very large task of fundraising for the restoration of one of the oldest remaining structures in the San Ramon Valley, the Ole 1850s Barn located at Forest Home Farms Historic Park.
Contact us at sanramonhf@gmail.com for more information about this effort, or to volunteer in our fundraising efforts.
The Boone House
The Boone House was remodeled several times since it was built in 1900. This home will eventually serve as a retreat and meeting center. The outbuildings vary significantly in date and size and include: a barn originally built in the period from 1850 to 1860, a 7000 square-foot farm equipment and tractor building, a walnut- processing plant that includes a three-story hulling and drying structure.
We will be recruiting volunteer docents and gardeners. There are lots of ways to get involved in this project. For more information, call the City of San Ramon at (925) 973-3284. You can also check out the Volunteer section of this website.
The David and Eliza Glass House Museum
The David and Eliza Glass House Museum, a white Italianate Victorian home built in 1877, was relocated from its original site at Lora Nita Farm to the southern portion of Forest Home Farms park. On May 15, 2010, it opened as a Historic House Museum on depicting life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The David and Eliza Glass House Museum is a two-story, wood frame dwelling with a one-story rear wing, which may be older than the main body of the house. The adjoining tank house, somewhat modified from its historic condition, is a two-story wood-frame structure that is probably slightly later in date than the house. The exterior has been restored to its original beauty. The landscaping around the home is being recreated to resemble a 1890’s photo of the house.
Tours
Forest Home Farms –
Park Hours:
Sunday & Monday – closed
Tuesday – Saturday – 10am – 4pm
Store hours
11am – 2pm
A self guided tour provides the background and history of Forest Home Farms Historic Park. Learn about the Boone Family that purchased the farm in 1899 and see all the buildings and exhibits including the Tractor Museum with over 30 restored antique tractors.’
Stroll around the farm and learn about its history, through interpretive panels and interactive exhibits, see antique tractors and farm machinery in the tractor museum, and participate in free activities.
Glass House Tours –
Saturdays at 12:00pm & 1:00pm
Take a tour with one of our trained docents and explore our Italianate Victorian House built in 1877. You will glean insight into the Victorian era in the San Ramon Valley and prominent families that lived here.
Tours are free to the public.
Get to Forest Home Farms
Forest Home Farms is located at 19953 San Ramon Valley Blvd., between the Bollinger and Alcosta exits off the 680 freeway.
From Walnut Creek: Take 680 South, exit on Bollinger, go right on Bollinger (west), take an immediate left (south) on San Ramon Valley Blvd. Cross Pine Valley Rd (a stop light), then turn right into the 1st driveway – go through the 1st gate and park to the left.
From Dublin / Pleasanton / Oakland: Take 580 to 680 North, exit on Alcosta Blvd., go left over the freeway (west), take the 1st right on San Ramon Valley Blvd (north), watch for the white Victorian house on your left, take the NEXT driveway on the left side past the Victorian, (before Pine Valley Rd.), go through the 1st gate and park to the left.