The Country Place new-home community arrived in 1978 during the final buildout of San Ramon Village (today’s South San Ramon), the master-planned community that had transformed thousands of acres of former ranchland into one of the East Bay's fastest-growing suburbs. Developed by Larwin Northern California, approximately 204 homes were built in one of the last undeveloped tracts near Montevideo Drive, helping complete a larger community that had been taking shape for more than a decade.
Although Country Place was not among San Ramon's earliest new-home communities, its opening reflected a renewed confidence in the housing market after the slowdown of the mid-1970s. Strong pre-sales, aggressive marketing, and rising home prices demonstrated that demand for suburban living remained strong. By the time construction was complete in 1979, Country Place had become another piece of the larger San Ramon Village story—a neighborhood built not on open frontier land, but on the final available spaces within an already established community.
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| March 1978 Oakland Tribune ad—Larwin leaned into urgency with the slogan: “If you don’t hurry to our opening, you’ll be just in time for our closing.” Whether it reflected a recovering late-1970s housing market or simply clever marketing, the campaign positioned County Place as one of San Ramon’s hottest new-home communities before construction had barely begun. |
Where is Country Place?
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| Annotated aerial map of the Country Place community in the Montevideo area of San Ramon, California. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Selling the dream
Larwin marketed Country Place to buyers who wanted the benefits of an established suburban community without sacrificing the amenities associated with newer homes. Advertisements emphasized features that had become increasingly important to late-1970s homebuyers, including air conditioning, self-cleaning ovens, sunken living rooms, vaulted ceilings, and wood-burning fireplaces.
Just as important was the location. Country Place was promoted as part of a "totally planned community" within San Ramon, placing residents near schools, parks, and a neighborhood shopping center. By the late 1970s, convenience had become one of suburbia's most effective selling points, and Larwin made sure prospective buyers understood they were purchasing more than a house.
Larwin also highlighted architectural variety. Buyers could choose from multiple floor plans and fifteen exterior design combinations incorporating wood siding, brick, stucco, shake roofs, and Spanish-style tile roofing. The goal was to create visual diversity while maintaining a cohesive neighborhood appearance.
Perhaps the most revealing advertisements focused on demand. Early campaigns stressed the rapid pace of sales, while a later promotion offered an unusual incentive: Larwin would purchase a buyer's existing home at fair market value. Together, the campaigns reflected a housing market that was recovering from the mid-1970s slowdown, with builders competing aggressively for families looking to move into larger suburban homes.
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| June 1978 Oakland Tribune ad—Larwin promoted County Place for its location near a then-new neighborhood shopping center. Although the center has since been demolished, the ad reflected how suburban convenience had become a major selling point in late-1970s San Ramon. Among Larwin’s Bay Area developments, County Place was also one of the company’s more expensive communities. |
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| September 1978 Oakland Tribune newspaper clipping—Larwin highlighted the architectural variety of County Place with an artist’s rendering of one of the development’s tile-roofed homes. Buyers could choose from 15 different exterior designs featuring combinations of wood siding, brick, stucco, shake roofs, and Spanish-style tile roofing. |
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| December 1978 Oakland Tribune ad—Larwin introduced an unusual sales incentive for County Place in San Ramon: “You Buy Ours, We’ll Buy Yours.” The program promised that Larwin would purchase a buyer’s existing home at fair market value, helping families move into a new County Place home during a slowing housing market. |
Legacy of Country Place
Country Place sold out by 1979, bringing another phase of development to San Ramon as the community approached maturity. While it lacked the pioneering role of some earlier San Ramon subdivisions, the community reflected the priorities of late-1970s suburban homebuyers: larger floor plans, architectural variety, modern amenities, and convenient access to schools, parks, and shopping.
Today, the streets and homes of Country Place serve as a reminder of the final years of large-scale suburban expansion within the original San Ramon Village master plan. As one of the last major new-home communities built in the area during the 1970s, it marked the transition from a rapidly growing new town to an established suburb.
The original Country Place models and sales materials
When Larwin introduced Country Place in 1978, prospective buyers encountered the community through its model homes. The models showcased the different designs, floor plans, and lifestyles the builder was offering to buyers in San Ramon.
The original model homes provide a way to revisit that introduction. The guide below shows where Larwin's models were located, preserves the original sales material where available, and explores the designs the builder offered to prospective buyers when the community was new.
Original model home complex
Country Place's five original model homes were arranged on Montevideo Drive around a temporary sales complex that welcomed prospective buyers during the neighborhood's grand opening in February 1978.
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| Annotated aerial view of the original Country Place model homes on Montevideo Drive. Base imagery from Apple Maps. |
Original advertised prices
- Mar. 1978 advertisement: From $73,990
- Dec. 1978 advertisement: From $80,990
Former model homes
1. The Butterfield - This model offered approximately 2,194 square feet with 5 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Butterfield model today via Google Street View. |
2. The Plan 2 - This model offered approximately 1,877 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 2 model today via Google Street View. |
3. The Plan 3 - This model offered approximately 1,650 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Plan 3 model today (extended) via Google Street View. |
4. The Cornfield - This model offered approximately 2,190 square feet with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms.
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| Original Cornfield model today (extended) via Google Street View. |
5. The Wheatfield - This model offered approximately 1,452 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
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| Original Wheatfield model today 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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