by Terry Lidral
Step onto the Hearst Ranch and it’s like taking a walk back into the 1860’s. Complete with cowboys on horseback driving great herds of cattle, the ranch is located in beautiful scenic San Simeon. The Hearst land covers 83,000 acres and reaches from the inland mountains down to the sea and along the coastline of Central California. Steeped in rich history, the operations of this 150+ year old cattle ranch have changed very little over the past century and a half.
The cowboy is essential to the operation of the Hearst Ranch. They manage the herd in much the same manner as when the ranch was first established in 1865 by George Hearst. Read about what it takes to be a cowboy on the Hearst Ranch here: https://www.hearstranch.com/about/people/
The original 50,000 acres were bought in 1865 by George Hearst who had moved from Missouri to California in search of his fortune. His windfall came when, in 1862, he discovered a part of the Comstock Lode, the largest silver deposit in North America.
Hearst invested some of his fortune in land, purchasing 50,000 acres from a man named Jose de Jesus Pico. Pico had been given the land, that started at Simeon Bay and reached to Ragged Point, by the Mexican governor. But after California acquired statehood in 1850, titles for Mexican landholders were hard to obtain. Also, a severe drought from 1862-1864 had created economic hard times for land owners. Many were hard pressed to sell. Hearst, always known as a gentleman, paid Pico nearly $1 per acre, almost twice the going price.
Hearst’s acquisition was called the Piedra Blanca Rancho. It had been named by Spanish explorers for the white rocks of the landscape. That name still stands today.
Hearst also added the Anaconda copper mine in Montana and the Homestead goldmine in South Dakota to his holdings. At the age of 41, he married and brought his 17-year-old bride, Phoebe Apperson, from Missouri to settle in San Francisco where he could oversee operations on both his vast acreage and the mines.
Property was a big part of Hearst’s fortune. Adding to his land holdings, he acquired 13,184 acres of the Rancho Santa Rosa and 4,469 acres on the Ramada San Simeon. He proceeded to use this land as a stud farm and dairy farms leased to local residents.
In 1878, George Hearst built a 1,000-foot-long wharf at the San Simeon port, along with a warehouse that remains today. An 18 room Victorian house was also built at that time as an abode for the Hearst family of the late 1800’s. That house is still being used by the current Hearst generation.
Those changes were enough for George Hearst who decided to become involved in politics. Hearst was said to explain that he was saving the ranch as it was for his only son William Randolph. He became a senator, dying in office in 1891. After her husband’s death, Phoebe ran the ranch for 28 years, enjoying the help of her son William who developed a deep love of the ranch and its western lifestyle.
Acclaimed Western photographer Richard Field Levine captures the beauty of the Hearst Ranch and the ambiance of cowboy life in his photo journal Western Vistas here: https://westernlivingjournal.com/
Phoebe Hearst died in the Spanish influenza epidemic in 1919 at which time the ranch passed to William Randolph. Taking advantage of his inherited good fortune, the second-generation Hearst immediately commissioned the well-known San Francisco architect Julie Morgan to design a castle to be placed high on the white rocks of Piedra Blanca Rancho.
William Randolph Hearst and Julie Morgan collaborated from 1919 to 1947 on the grand architectural structure that was to be called La Cuesta Encantada – The Enchanted Castle. Today it is known simply as Hearst Castle.
In addition to his grand castle, Hearst engaged Julie Morgan to build a group of buildings on the estate for both employees and animals. A poultry ranch, a dairy barn, a horse ranch and a cowboy bunkhouse were part of the group. In addition, a warehouse in the style of a Spanish mission was built on the grounds. Morgan also designed a group of spacious houses for Hearst’s employees. The finest house was built for William Randolph Hearst’s lifelong friend, Don “Pancho” Francisco Estrada who taught Hearst’s 5 children how to rope and ride.
Those buildings built in the early 20th century still serve as residences for today’s Hearst Ranch employees. The village made up of the group of Morgan designed buildings is the last surviving estate village in all of America.
Upon William Randolph Hearst’s death in 1951, the Hearst Corporation donated La Cuesta Encantada and its buildings and belongings to the California State Parks Department. The Hearst Castle was opened to visitors in 1958 and has become a popular tourist attraction in the area.
The Hearst Ranch is one of today’s larger producers of grass-fed beef. Its operations run much like they did when the ranch was established by George Hearst in 1865. Cowboys and cattle dogs manage the herds of beef cattle roaming the beautiful open range of the ranch so loved by George Hearst’s heir and only child. The present operations are managed by Stephen Thompson Hearst, the great grandson of William Randolph.
A conservation agreement was signed by the Hearst Corporation, the American Land Conservancy, California Rangeland Trust and the State of California in 2005. This agreement protects this great historic landmark as a window into the past for our future generations.
