Volk-McLain and the shaping of San Ramon Village
The birth of modern Dublin and San Ramon
Before there were bustling freeways, shopping centers, or city limits, there were just fields—miles of open ranchland and quiet orchards stretching across the San Ramon Valley. Up until 1960, the areas we now call Dublin and San Ramon were rural and unincorporated, dotted with cattle, orchards, and little else. That all changed when a pair of Los Angeles developers—Kenneth Q. Volk and Robert B. McLain—arrived with bold blueprints and an even bolder vision: to transform this pastoral valley into a $300 million master-planned community called San Ramon Village.
From ranches to a model city
The name “San Ramon Village” wasn’t chosen at random—it honored the area’s deep roots, particularly Rancho San Ramon, a 20,000-acre Mexican land grant awarded to José María Amador in 1834. Over time, Amador sold pieces of his land, including large portions to Leo Norris and James Witt Dougherty. These sprawling ranches, along with adjoining land from Rancho Santa Rita, formed the patchwork that would become the future city. Today, Dougherty Road still cuts through the heart of what was once Rancho San Ramon, and Santa Rita Road cuts through the heart of what was once Rancho Santa Rita.
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| Historic map centered on Dublin, with Rancho San Ramon (Amador) and Rancho Santa Rita (Bernal). |
Though the idea of developing the land began taking shape in the 1950s, it wasn’t until 1955 that San Ramon Village, Inc. was officially formed by the Los Angeles-based San Ramon Walnut Land Company. Their ambition was clear: transform the rural San Ramon Valley into a modern suburb. In 1959, developer Carl M. Buck purchased 12,000 acres for $750 million and proposed a grand plan: 29,000 homes for over 100,000 people. However, Buck withdrew in January 1960. Within hours, Kenneth Volk and Robert McLain—who operated one of the nation’s largest homebuilding firms—stepped in and acquired 4,300 acres from Buck, laying the groundwork for a massive new community stretching from Bishop Ranch in San Ramon to Arroyo Mocho in Pleasanton.
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| From a February 1960 Oakland Tribune—introducing the new model city across two counties. |
Volk-McLain unveils San Ramon Village
By February 1960, Volk-McLain unveiled their ambitious blueprint: a master-planned community with 9,200 homes across 13 neighborhoods, each centered around an elementary school. With no incorporated city to govern the land, they helped establish a community services district to provide basic utilities and services. Billed as “city-close, country-quiet,” San Ramon Village offered suburban charm with urban convenience.
Construction officially began on July 6, 1960. Just two months later, on Labor Day weekend, the first homes debuted to the public. Thousands came to see these modern ranch-style homes in a town of the future.
Volk-McLain spared no effort in promotion. Newspaper ads featured detailed artist renderings of the community-to-be—schools, motels, and shopping centers. The excitement was electric.
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| From a September 1960 San Francisco Chronicle ad—grand opening of San Ramon Village, Labor Day weekend. |
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| From a September 1960 Oakland Tribune ad—artists rendering of San Ramon Village, now Dublin, with 680 slicing through the middle. The roadway connecting Alcosta Boulevard to Dublin Boulevard was not built. |
Building more than homes
On November 3, 1960, the first 38 families moved into their new homes in San Ramon Village. In a grand display dubbed “Operation Big Move,” a parade of Bekins moving trucks carried the new residents from downtown Oakland, through the Caldecott Tunnel and down through Danville, marking the official start of the village’s population. In a single day, San Ramon Village went from zero residents to 175—symbolizing a broader wave of suburban migration as families left crowded East Bay cities for newer communities over the hill.
San Ramon Village included grand masonry entrance signs installed at the corners of Highway 21 (now San Ramon Road) and Amador Valley Boulevard. Just behind them, a new shopping center was rising, complete with a full-sized Safeway built to serve the growing community.
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| From a November 1960 Daily Review photo—Operation Big Move, viewed from Donahue Drive in Dublin, with the caravan turning left from Amador Valley Boulevard. |
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| From an April 1961 Daily Review—A large masonry entrance sign and mature olive tree welcomed residents to San Ramon Village at San Ramon Road and Amador Valley Boulevard in Dublin, illuminated by handmade decorative lamps imported from Sweden. The signs were removed in the 1980s when San Ramon Road was widened. |
Life in the new suburb
In 1961, San Ramon Village opened its first recreational center and swimming pool, a boomerang-shaped structure located in the northwestern corner of the Dublin Elementary School site on Vomac Road. The center became a hub for community gatherings and recreational activities, though it only lasted for about a decade. By the early 1970s, it was replaced by a much larger swim center near Dublin High School to accommodate the growing population and expanding needs of the community.
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| From a July 1961 Daily Review ad—the beautiful boomerang-shaped San Ramon Village Community Recreation Center. |
The city that almost was
By 1963, momentum had built for incorporating the growing region into an official city. A formal proposal was submitted to Alameda County, with San Ramon Village as the centerpiece. But the effort fizzled. Pleasanton, wary of losing land and tax base, quickly annexed much of the proposed area. The incorporation effort failed, but the dream of a new city persisted.
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| From a January 1963 Daily Review picture—proposed new city that covered Dublin, much of Pleasanton, all the way to Livermore. |
The boom years
By the Village’s fourth anniversary, the development had exploded. More than 2,400 homes had been sold, home to about 10,000 residents. The success drew other builders, and Volk-McLain began selling off parcels to diversify the area’s housing stock. Infrastructure flourished—fire stations, medical centers, schools, cable TV, and even a golf course.
At the same time, major freeways (I-580 and I-680) were being built, dramatically improving commuter access and fueling even faster growth.
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| Vintage postcard of San Ramon Village, California, from about 1965 with the San Ramon Village Shopping Center in the foreground. |
When San Ramon Village outgrew itself
By 1965, the population hub of San Ramon Village had shifted northward. The name “San Ramon Village” started fading, replaced simply by “San Ramon,” especially on the Contra Costa side. The original heart of the community around Alcosta Boulevard and Village Parkway had been envisioned as a dynamic town center. It included plans for a 300,000-square-foot indoor mall—complete with shopping, dining, a hospital, and even a BART station.
Parts of that vision came to life. Kodak’s campus with its iconic fountain became a local landmark. Safeway launched its Super Safeway concept at the new Alcosta Mall. But the grand retail vision fell short. Without freeway visibility, department stores stayed away, and the mall eventually declined. It was demolished decades later to make way for new housing.
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| Vintage ad showing an eerial view of San Ramon Village in 1965. |
The final chapter for Volk-McLain
By early 1965, Volk-McLain had built thousands of homes across seven subdivisions. Their final effort, Country Club Estates, broke ground near San Ramon Country Club. But after just 10 homes, they left the homebuilding business altogether.
In 1967, the company sold the remaining land to Property Research Corporation and shifted its focus to industrial development. Their chapter in San Ramon and Dublin’s story had come to a close.
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| Annotated aerial map of the Volk-McLain developments in San Ramon and Dublin, California, forming the foundation of San Ramon Village. Base imagery from Google Maps. |
One village, two cities
Though San Ramon Village began as one community, it was divided by the Alameda and Contra Costa county lines. By the early 1970s, the Alameda side became the foundation for what would become modern Dublin, while the Contra Costa portion continued to evolve into the city of San Ramon.
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| A vintage postcard of Dublin California in Spring of 1971. |
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| Aerial views of Dublin looking north in 1961 compared to looking east in 1974. |
Each city took a different path—Dublin becoming the commercial heart of the region, with car dealerships, big box stores, and the iconic San Ramon Drive-In. San Ramon leaned more residential and business-park focused. But both shared a common origin: the dream and drive of Volk-McLain.
The village that shaped two cities
Today, Dublin and San Ramon are thriving cities—but their stories begin with a single, bold idea: that orchards and ranches could become vibrant communities. And while San Ramon Village no longer appears on maps, its spirit lives on in neighborhood names, street layouts, and the lives of thousands who call this valley home.
Related posts
- San Ramon history — Country Club Park neighborhood
- San Ramon Village — tract homes in Dublin (1960)
- Barkley Square history — Dublin homes (1964)
- Brighton Circle — tract homes in Dublin (1962)
- Country Club Estates — tract homes in San Ramon (1965)
- Country Club Park — tract homes in San Ramon (1961)
- Glenoaks — tract homes in Dublin (1963)
- Sunny Glen — tract homes in San Ramon (1963)
- History of Dublin neighborhoods
- History of San Ramon neighborhoods
- Builders of the Tri-Valley
Great recap of Volk-McLain projects in early Dublin. My parents bought our house on Edenberry Place in 1963 for $18,000. Mortgage payment was $125.00 per month. I was in 6th grade and my Little League team was sponsored by S.K. Nellis (local painting company) and Volk-McLain. I remember my mother chanting repeatedly, the “City close, country quiet” phrase. Also, as described in the article, we had just moved from over the hill in San Leandro. Life was pretty simple back then. Kids were EVERYWHERE - on bikes, skateboards, playing in the empty lots that were plentiful at that time. Safeway on Amador Valley and Romley’s Market near Briarhill on Dublin Blvd were the only grocery stores. Every Sunday we went to church at the Camp Parks chapel, because St Raymond did not have a church building built yet. Our school, Brighton Temporary, was where the Target store is now, across from the fire department. The recreation center was at San Ramon Rd and Dublin Blvd where the Starbucks is now. The hills were beautiful back them. Too bad that Dublin did not preserve them in the east side. In the 1960’s everyone in Dublin commuted to work – still true today. In the 1960’s and 1970’s you had to drive to Hayward or Walnut Creek to shop for anything besides groceries – not at all like today, where there is an abundance of retail in Dublin. Also, at that time, Dublin pretty much ended at Dougherty Road.
ReplyDeleteGreat recap of Volk-McLain projects in early Dublin. My parents bought our house on Edenberry Place in 1963 for $18,000. Mortgage payment was $125.00 per month. I was in 6th grade and my Little League team was sponsored by S.K. Nellis (local painting company) and Volk-McLain. I remember my mother chanting repeatedly, the “City close, country quiet” phrase. Also, as described in the article, we had just moved from over the hill in San Leandro. Life was pretty simple back then. Kids were everywhere, on bikes, skateboards, playing in the empty lots that were plentiful at that time. Safeway on Amador Valley and Romley’s Market near Briarhill on Dublin Blvd were the only grocery stores. Every Sunday we went to church at the Camp Parks chapel, because St Raymond did not have a church building built yet. Our school, Brighton Temporary was where the Target store is now, across from the fire department. The hills were beautiful back them. Too bad that Dublin did not preserve them in the east side. In the 1960’s everyone in Dublin commuted to work – still true today. In the 1960’s and 1970’s you had to drive to Hayward or Walnut Creek to shop for anything besides groceries – not at all like today, where there is an abundance of retail in Dublin. Also, at that time, Dublin pretty much ended at Dougherty Road.
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