The Los Laureles Lodge is a historic American

lodge Lodge is originally a term for a relatively small building, often associated with a larger one. Lodge or The Lodge may refer to: Buildings and structures Specific * The Lodge (Australia), the official Canberra residence of the Prime Ministe ...

Carmel Valley, California Carmel Valley is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California, United States. The term "Carmel Valley" generally refers to the Carmel River watershed east of California State Route 1, and not specifically to the smaller Carmel V ...

. The

Pacific Improvement Company The Pacific Improvement Company (PIC) was a large holding company in California and an affiliate of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was formed in 1878, by the Big Four, who were influential businessmen, philanthropists and railroad tycoons who ...

used the lodge as a game preserve for

Hotel Del Monte The Hotel Del Monte was a large resort hotel in Monterey, California, from its opening in 1880 until 1942. It was one of the finest luxury hotels in North America. During World War II, it closed and the building was leased to the United State ...

guests to hunt, fish, and canoe the Carmel River. It was once referred to as the Rancho Del Monte or Del Monte Dude Ranch. Today, the Los Laureles Lodge is a resort hotel and restaurant.

History

The Los Laureles Lodge got its beginnings as part of

Rancho Los Laureles Rancho Los Laureles was a Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José M. Boronda and Vicente Blas Martínez. Los Laureles refers to the California Bay Laurel tree. The grant e ...

, the

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

in present-day

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Manuel Boronda and Vicente Blas Martínez. Rancho Los Laureles passed through several owners before being sold to

Nathan Weston Spaulding Nathan Weston Spaulding (September 24, 1829 – October 8, 1903) was an American politician and landowner who served as the 15th Mayor of Oakland, California (1871-1873). He was also an inventor, holding a patent for an adjustable circular saw t ...

(1829–1903) in 1874. Spaulding owned the Los Rancho Laureles until 1881. He placed the rancho under the management of his brother-in-law, Kinzea Stone Clinkenbeard, who lived for a short time in the three-room Boronda Adobe until they built a more modern ranch house, which became known as the Los Laureles Lodge. Spaulding grew alfalfa on of the ranch for cattle feed. Irrigation to water the fields and fencing were introduced for the first time in Carmel Valley.

Pacific Improvement Company

In 1882, Spaulding sold Rancho Los Laureles to the

(PIC). The

in Monterey, built in 1879, wanted the water rights from the Carmel River that ran through Rancho Los Laureles as well as a game preserve for their hotel guests. In 1888, PIC hired William Hatton to manage their purchase and develop the Del Monte dairies and ranching operation in Los Laureles. In the 1890s, the Los Laureles ranch house became the "headquarters" for management of the lands the PIC had purchased. In 1896, PIC added several guests cottages and enlarged the Los Laureles Lodge, to accommodate the Del Monte Hotel guests. Hatton modernized the diary operations, adding Durham cattle to the Holsteins. Large vats and presses were installed to manufacture

Monterey Jack Monterey Jack, sometimes shortened to Jack, is a Californian white, semi-hard cheese made using cow's milk, with a mild flavor and slight sweetness. It has been called "an American original" and "as a vestige of Spanish rule in the early nineteen ...

cheese. The Del Monte milk barn dates to 1890 when Hatton used the ventilation tower on the roof to cool the milk. The Boronda adobe was the center for the PIC's dairy operation.

Del Monte Properties

In the 1900s the PIC liquidated their holdings and the Del Monte Properties headed by Samuel FB Morse, acquired the land in 1919. In 1923, the Del Monte Properties divided the land into 11 parcels. Golf champion

Marion Hollins Marion B. Hollins (December 3, 1892 – August 27, 1944) was an American amateur golfer. She is known as an athlete and as a golf course developer, one of the only known female golf course developers in history. She won the 1921 U.S. Women's Ama ...

bought , which later became the Camrel Valley Village and the Holman Ranch. Samuel Fertig from Pennsylvania, purchased Los Laureles that included the Boronda adobe and the Laureles Lodge.

Additional owners

In the early 1930s, Muriel Vanderbilt Phelps bought the ranch from Fertig, converting the former Carriage House into a Ranch House and building stables. She built a swimming pool at the front of her ranch house. In May 1946, Vanderbilt sold of the property to

Frank B. Porter Franklin Benjamin Porter (March 23, 1886 – May 9, 1977), was a pioneer businessman and real estate developer of Monterey Peninsula. In 1926, he launched the first residential subdivision in Carmel Valley, California that became Robles del Rio, C ...

and his son Paul for an estimated $200,000 (), which included the Boronda Adobe. The property was converted into the Rancho Del Monte subdivision and Rancho Del Monte Country Club, which is now the Los Laureles Lodge.

Present day

The Laureles Lodge is owned by Sanborn Griffin and is a resort hotel and restaurant. The Del Monte milk barn was converted in 1940 to the White Oak Inn, later an art gallery, and a real estate office.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Los Laureles Lodge 1890 establishments in California Carmel Valley, California Hotels in California Preferred Hotels & Resorts Buildings and structures in Monterey County, California