Steve Henson was working to keep his plumming work crews happy, he created a new salad dressing. Henson retired with his wife and they moved to Santa Barbara County, California where they purchased the Sweetwater Ranch in San Marcos Pass in 1956 and renamed it Hidden Valley Ranch. On the menu for the ranch kitchen, Henson served the Ranch salad dressing he had created. By 1957, a packaged mix to make the dressing at home was sold in stores.