The last walnut orchard — suburban transformation in San Ramon

Up until the mid 1960s, the San Ramon Valley was primarily known for its ranches and farms, but progress was moving at an unparalleled rate. Starting in the south San Ramon area, tract homes were replacing ranches and farms on a grand scale. By 1963, just one old walnut orchard remained. The owner of the orchard, Volk-McLain, the developer of the massive San Ramon Village that was urbanizing the area, saw the orchard as an opportunity to experiment.

Instead of clearing the orchard entirely for conventional tract housing, Volk-McLain imagined a neighborhood that preserved some of the stately old trees within the new subdivision. Most home sites would have one or two trees each, and perhaps fetch a premium.

Map of south San Ramon in 1961 showing location of the last walnut orchard, including old-growth and younger orchards
Map of the last walnut orchard in south San Ramon, circa 1961. Old-growth orchard planted about 1940; north orchard planted about 1955.

Subdividing the orchard

Volk-McLain started building homes in the eastern portion of the old-growth orchard in 1963 with their Country Club Park subdivision.

By the mid-1960s, the housing market was slowing and Volk-McLain decided to exit home building. The company began selling portions of the orchard to other developers. Tom Gentry acquired the entire younger northern orchard along with additional land in the old-growth grove, where he would later build the Oak Creek and The Orchards subdivisions — the latter fully embracing the walnut grove identity in both name and marketing.

The west half of the old-growth orchard was sold to H. C. Elliott, who was already developing Crestview just south of the area.

Annotated aerial map showing the subdivided former walnut orchards in the San Ramon.
Annotated aerial map of the former walnut orchards in San Ramon, California. The northern younger orchard was subdivided by Tom Gentry to build the Oak Creek (1965) and The Orchards (1968) subdivisions. The southern old-growth orchard was subdivided by Tom Gentry to extend The Orchards subdivision, Brown & Kauffmann to build the Walnut Hills (1966) subdivision, and Volk-McLain to build the Country Club Park (1963) subdivision. Every home in these tracts came with at least one walnut tree. Few, if any, remain today. Base imagery from Apple Maps.

A suburban patchwork

H. C. Elliott eventually sold his parcel to Brown & Kauffmann in early 1966, and the builders announced Walnut Hills with a marketing campaign centered around life in a mature walnut grove. About 200 homes were planned among the towering orchard trees, with advertisements promising shade, tranquility, and a more pastoral version of suburban living.

Brown & Kauffmann introduced a line of homes positioned as a premium alternative to nearby tracts. Prices started at $26,950 and included eligibility for membership in the nearby San Ramon Country Club.

After selling roughly 80 homes, Brown & Kauffmann sold remaining lots to Young America Homes and transferred additional orchard land to Tom Gentry.

Young America Homes briefly entered the project in 1969 before departing a year later after building only a fraction of the planned homes.

In 1971, Brown & Kauffmann returned with a new collection of homes and completed the neighborhood by 1972, finishing Walnut Hills’ transformation from orchard to suburb.

1966 newspaper photo of H. C. Elliott inspecting Walnut Hills subdivision plans by Brown & Kauffmann in San Ramon
From a February 1966 Oakland Tribune—builders H. C. Elliott, S. H. Kauffmann, and Wayne R. Brown inspect home plans with a scale model of Walnut Hills below them.

Marketing the orchard

Throughout each phase of development, the orchard remained the selling point. Mature walnut trees adorned ads and brochures, promising shade, beauty, and a sense of place. Lots fetched premium prices—sometimes thousands more than other nearby homes—just for the trees alone.

Homebuyers were promised a slice of California pastoral life: a hammock under the canopy, walnuts for the picking, and maybe even a glass of lemonade.

1964 newspaper ad promoting homes in San Ramon’s Country Club Park, highlighting lots in a scenic old walnut grove
From a March 1964 Oakland Tribune ad—while the golf course lots had sold out, luxury home buyers might prefer a beautiful old walnut grove.

1969 ad for The Orchards subdivision in San Ramon by Tom Gentry, referencing former walnut orchard land
From a 1969 ad: “A rare opportunity—for the few who can enjoy the orchard life.”

1966 Oakland Tribune ad for Walnut Hills subdivision, promoting homes with free backyard walnuts.
From an April 1966 Oakland Tribune ad—the trees were inviting you to Walnut Hills.

The demise of the trees

Despite the romance of orchard living, reality set in quickly.

English walnut trees (Juglans regia) are great for commercial farming, but not for suburban life. They shed leaves early, dropped messy fruit, consumed huge amounts of water, and released pollen that triggered allergies. Most of all, nothing grows underneath them.

Then came the drought. By the late 1970s, most of the trees were gone.

Timeline: development of San Ramon's last walnut orchard

  • 1940: Old-growth walnut orchard planted in south San Ramon
  • 1955: Younger northern orchard planted
  • 1963: Country Club Park homes built in the eastern orchard (Volk-McLain)
  • 1965: Tom Gentry launches the Oak Creek subdivision in the younger orchard
  • 1966: Brown & Kauffmann announce Walnut Hills
  • 1968: Tom Gentry launches The Orchards subdivision
  • 1969: Young America Homes builds homes on former Brown & Kauffmann lots
  • 1971–72: Brown & Kauffmann return to complete Walnut Hills
  • Late 1970s: Most walnut trees removed due to drought and landscaping issues

A community rooted in walnut orchard history

By the time the last walnut trees disappeared in the late 1970s, the orchard itself was gone—but traces of it still lingered in the neighborhoods built among its rows. Street layouts, oversized lots, and names like The Orchards and Walnut Hills quietly preserved the memory of south San Ramon’s agricultural past.

What made the experiment unusual was that developers briefly tried to preserve the landscape instead of erasing it entirely. For a few years, buyers could live among towering walnut trees that had shaded the valley long before suburbia arrived.

In the end, suburban life proved incompatible with commercial orchard trees. The walnuts dropped too heavily, consumed too much water, and resisted the lawns and landscaping homeowners wanted. But for a short period during San Ramon’s transformation, the valley’s last orchard survived long enough to shape the neighborhoods that replaced it.

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