Country Club Estates represented Volk-McLain’s most ambitious and upscale residential project in San Ramon. Opened in 1965 within the San Ramon Golf Club (then called the San Ramon Country Club), the new-home community featured large architect-designed homes positioned along winding streets beside the golf course — a significant departure from the more modest tract housing that had defined much of San Ramon Village during the early 1960s.
The homes were designed by architect Dave Johnson, AIA, and emphasized spacious floor plans, dramatic entryways, custom detailing, and a level of architectural variety uncommon in many suburban developments of the era.
Country Club Estates reflected a growing shift in East Bay suburban development toward luxury-oriented communities built around recreation, exclusivity, and landscaped environments — trends that would become increasingly common in later decades.
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| February 1965 Oakland Tribune—for the grand opening, a 20-pound key was made to kick off homes sales. |
Where is Country Club Estates?
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| Annotated aerial map of the Country Club Estates subdivision in the San Ramon Golf Club in San Ramon, California. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Selling the dream
Country Club Estates was marketed as one of San Ramon’s most prestigious new subdivisions. At a time when the average American home measured roughly 1,400 square feet, many homes here exceeded 2,200 square feet and featured expansive lots, golf course surroundings, and upscale interior finishes.
Advertisements emphasized elegant architecture, mature landscaping, and country club living rather than affordability or efficiency. Real estate coverage in Bay Area newspapers frequently highlighted the subdivision’s model homes, decorative interiors, and carefully staged presentation.
Architectural styling varied between models, ranging from Colonial-inspired designs to Mediterranean-influenced elevations with arches, columns, and large garage facades. Mature olive trees and professionally landscaped streets further distinguished the subdivision from many newer tract developments elsewhere in the rapidly growing San Ramon Valley.
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| November 1964 Oakland Tribune ad—artist's rendering of an elevation in Country Club Estates in San Ramon. |
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| 1965 Oakland Tribune ad—the model home complex was landscaped with mature trees to give the area a well-established look. |
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| 1965 Contra Costa Times ad—one of the model homes had a Venetian-styled design. |
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| February 1965 Oakland Tribune photo—homes were staged to appeal to the highest tastes, including sculpted columns and arched doorways. |
Legacy of Country Club Estates
Although Volk-McLain originally planned a much larger subdivision, with 60 homes in the first phase, only ten Country Club Estates homes were ultimately completed before the company began winding down its homebuilding operations in 1965. The remaining lots were later sold to other developers, including Alpha Homes, which continued development under the name Fairway Hills.
Country Club Estates was the last new-home community Volk-McLain began in San Ramon. It was a striking departure from the modest tract homes that had established the company's presence in the valley: a small collection of larger residences overlooking the golf course, aimed at a more affluent market. But the project was short-lived. Whether the homes proved too expensive, the market had shifted, or Volk-McLain simply saw greater opportunity elsewhere, the company soon abandoned residential construction in favor of industrial development.
The timing also appears to mark the end of Volk-McLain's homebuilding era more broadly. The company's earlier Carlton Hills development near San Diego had been another large-scale planned community, with golf-course neighborhoods among its component subdivisions. Newspaper advertising for Volk-McLain's San Diego homebuilding appears to disappear around the time the company began developing San Ramon Village, although a later 1968 retrospective indicates that construction continued at Carlton Hills into 1962. The surviving record therefore suggests a transition rather than a precise cutoff: as residential development in San Diego wound down, Volk-McLain was turning its attention to Northern California.
In that context, Country Club Estates feels like an unlikely bookend to the story. The company that had entered the San Ramon Valley promising thousands of affordable suburban homes ended its local homebuilding era with just ten houses overlooking a golf course. The remaining residential opportunities were left to other builders, while Volk-McLain found a more lasting business in industrial property.
Today, the original Country Club Estates homes remain among the most distinctive residences along the golf course — a reminder of the moment San Ramon's suburban growth began shifting from modest postwar tract housing toward more affluent residential development.
Exploring the original Country Club Estates today
Although the sales office is long gone and the advertisements have faded, the original Country Club Estates model homes remain part of the neighborhood. These homes gave prospective buyers their first glimpse of Volk-McLain's vision for suburban living in 1965.
Today, they provide a tangible connection to Country Club Estates' earliest days. The guide below documents the original model home complex, the homes themselves, and how they appear today.
Original advertised prices
- 1965: $27,295 - $46,000
Original model home complex
When Country Club Estates opened, buyers toured a carefully staged collection of Volk-McLain model homes showcasing the neighborhood’s mix of architecture, indoor-outdoor living, and family-oriented floor plans. Though individual elevations varied, these original models helped define much of the neighborhood’s visual identity.
The five original models opened in February 1965 on Firecrest Lane.
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| Annotated aerial map of the original Country Club Estates model home complex on Firecrest Lane. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Original model home designs
1. The Plan 1 - This model offered approximately 2,482 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 1 model today via Google Street View. |
2. The Plan 2 - This model offered approximately 2,118 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 2 model today, with original Olive tree, via Google Street View. |
3. The Monticello Colonial - This model offered approximately 2,292 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. A personal favorite of Henry J. Cupples, longtime Volk-McLain sales director. After selling hundreds of homes in San Ramon, this was the one he chose to live in.
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| Original Monticello Colonial model today via Google Street View. |
4. The Riviera - This model offered approximately 2,400 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Only one was built.
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| Original Riviera model today via Google Street View. |
5. The Plan 5 - This model offered approximately 1,729 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 5 model today (expanded) via Google Street View. |
Collections
San Ramon — the neighborhoods that built a suburban city
This collection explores the new-home communities, builders, and neighborhoods that shaped San Ramon during its principle years of suburban growth that gradually became the modern city.
The San Ramon Village collection explores the master-planned community that transformed former ranches and orchards into today's Dublin and South San Ramon. Although the name has largely disappeared, the neighborhoods, subdivisions, schools, parks, and shopping centers built as part of the original plan continue to shape the Tri-Valley.
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