The San Francisco call., 1897-02-05
LAND FOR HALF
A MILLION
Mrs. Stanford to Part With
Many Of Her Valuable
Acres.
The Money Will Be Used
to Pay Off the
Legacies.
The Property Includes Some of the
Finest Tracts in the Vast
Estate

so decided last night and completed ar
rengements at once. The property will
be put on the market Immediately. Nc
Afee Bros, real estate agents, OF los
Montgomery street, will make the sale.
The property consists of five ranches in
different parts of California. Altogether
there are $500 acres of land, much OF it
very fertile.
1t will be extensively advertised, both
" in the East and on this coast. The idea
is to sell each ranch as a whole if possible.
This property is part of the so-cal!ed
Leland Stanford estate. which itself is
separate from the endowment of Stanford
University.
The valuable and extensive Vina, Grid
ley, Palo Alto and other ranches, together
forming total of s6, 400 acres, have moth
Ing TO do with this sale. They cannot be
sold. They are forever the property OF
the university, having been given to it by
Senator Stanford during his lifetime.
1t will be remem bered, however, that
Senator Stanford made provisions in his
will for twenty-seven legacies, amounting
= to over $1,000 ,000 Some of the legatees
were relatives, Others were friends OF Sen
ator Stanford. Mrs. Stanford has been
paying money to the different legatees as
fast as it has been possible to realize from
the property.
This sale is primarily intended to raise
money TO make further payments on the
legacies. II is also uart of a general plan
TO settle up Senator Stantord's personal
estate SO that, all claims being paid, she
MAY turn over the balance to the univer-
slty, for it was Senator Stantord's wish
that the university should get even more
property than that with which he origi-
nally endowed it.
In addition to these fine ranches, valued
at over a half million dollars and now
offered for sale, Senator Stanfords estate
includes over a half million dollars worth
of other real estate in City lots and small
ranches and half million dollars worth
OF stock in the Southern Pacific Railroad
Com pany. This is all separate from Mrs.
Stanford's own property. After the pres
ent sale is consummated the other land
will eventually be put on the market.
1t will thus be seen that after all the
legacies shall have been paid, there will
be nearly 100000 to turn over to the
university to swell the munifcent gift of
millions already bestowed.
Mrs. Stanford first contemplated this
sale month ago, and incidentally men,
toned it at that time. She said nothing
more about it, however, until last night,
when Mr.. McAfee was summoned to her
residence on Mob Hill, and there the pre-
parations were perfected.
The appraised value of the fine ranches
is slightly in excess of $500, 600. The
agents hope to sell them for more than
that.
The Copeland ranch, of 2OOO acres, in
Tehama Cou nty, is one of the properties
10 be converted into cash. II is appraised
at 100000. 1t adjoins the Vina ranch,
that belongs to the university, and large
part of it is river bottom land fronting on
the Sacramento River. The soil is rich
and black. The land is covered with live
oaks, aud is irrigated throughout with an
unlimited supply of water from Deer
Creek. The ranch was originally intended
for fine horse farm. similar to that at
Palo Alto. There are buildings and i'm
provements on it that cost Senator Stan
ford $50, 0,000-barns, sheds. stalls, race
tracks and other conveniences peculiar to
first-class racehorse farm. The place is
planted to grain and alfalfa, and there is
an orchard. The railroad and the county
road cross the ranch. The Vina railroad
station is close by.
The DR.. Irwin ranch of 5000 acres, ten
miles from Martinez, in Contra Costa
County, is another of the farms offered
for sale. 1t is valued at over $50 600.
Formerly it was part Of the we'll known
Government ranch, so called. 1t is valley
land. The soil is rich loan. At present
it is rented and is planted to grain. There
is some marsh land along near the bay
and that is used for grazing. This ranch
viii be sold as one piece or in small hold
ings, as 1t has already been surveyed for
subdivisions.
The McCoppin ranch of 800 acres two
miles from San Luis Obispo, will also be
sold. 1t belonged to ex-Postmaster Nc
CoPpin OF San Francisco. 1t is very fertile,
and,is particularly adapted to the growth
of grain, beans and vegetables. Some of
1t last year yielded as much as twenty-five
sacks of barley to the acre. 1t is situated
near the narrow-gauge railroad and
county road TO Port Hartford, and is close
to the San Luis Obispo Racetrack. There
. is cottage and few outbuildings on the
place.
The Stillman ranch of $50 acres, about
mile from the center of the town of Red
lands, in San Bernardino County, is al so
for sale. 1t is in the midst of beautiful
orange groves on sloping hillside over
looking San Bernardino, Highlands, Men
tone and other towns in the valley. Two
railroads-the Southern Pacific and the
AtchisoD, Topeka and Santa Fe-run
within blocks distance of the place, and
county roads bound it on ali sides. DR..
stiIlman, an old-time Californian, after
whom it was named. bought the place
twenty-five years ago.
He intended to make it a wine ranch
and to-day a large part of it is set to wine
grapes. There are also peach trees and
apricot trees. The original but little
used winery and brandy-stiil, together
with small packing-house and cottage,
are all the buildings. Every square yard
Of the land Is under cultivation and it is
all rich, productive land, irrigated from
the Sunnyside ditch, one of the oldest
|. watercourses in that part of the country.
, The land is especially adapted to oranges
and there are about 100 orange trees on
The place. II is supposed TO be worth
over $50, 900.
The last piece Of property of the present
list contains 1900 acres of picturesque hill
side land Immediately back from and