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C.81

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Catherine Kutsuris, Conservation & Development Director
Date:	April 21, 2009

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Designation of Knightsen Townsite and Nail Ranch Property in the Knightsen Area as Historical Districts

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 04/21/2009

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Gayle B. Uilkema, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Susan A. Bonilla, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:	Joyce 335-1316
cc:	Maureen Parkes Ruben Hernandez Victoria Mejia

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: April 21, 2009
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ADOPT the recommendation of the Historical Landmarks Advisory Committee (HLAC) designating the Knightsen Townsite and Nail Ranch property in the Knightsen area as historical districts and REFER the designation to the Contra Costa County Historical Society for inclusion in the County Historical Resources Inventory.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None.

BACKGROUND:

On September 10, 2008, the Contra Costa County Historical Landmarks Advisory Committee (HLAC) approved a nomination by the Knightsen Town Advisory Council (KTAC) for the historical designation of the Knightsen Townsite and Nail Ranch property.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

Mr. Gonzales, a representative of KTAC, provided the HLAC with an informational package that included photos, maps and considerable historical material and information on the proposed historic districts. After hearing a presentation from Mr. Gonzales and reviewing the submitted material, the HLAC voted unanimously to approve the nomination and recommend to the Board of Supervisors that the Nail Ranch property and the Knightsen Township area be designated as historical resources and placed on the County’s Historical Resources Inventory.

A summary of the areas in Knightsen to be designated, as identified in the material submitted by KTAC, is provided below.

I. Nail Ranch Property (Area 1)

Nail Ranch was established in the 1860’s and consisted of approximately 8.6 acres located on the east side of Sellers Avenue, just south of Sunset Road in the unincorporated Knightsen/Brentwood area. In 1986 Nail Ranch was subdivided by a member of the Nail family with Minor Subdivision #MS22-86. The original 8.6-acre site now consists of two separate parcels; one owned by the East County Historical Society and the other owned by the City of Brentwood. The City of Brentwood property is a 7.26-acre site (APN: 015-010-068) identified as 3900 Sellers Avenue and the East County Historical Society property is a 1.33-acre site (APN: 015-010-069) identified as 3890 Sellers Avenue.

The Nail family settled in the Knightsen area in the 1860’s and constructed a small home on the property which they occupied while a larger second residence was constructed adjacent to it. The larger residence was completed in the 1870’s. Both the small ‘Original’ Nail residence and ‘Second’ Nail residence are still located on the property. The East Contra Costa Historical Society currently uses the second Nail residence and a number of other structures on the property as a museum. The East County Historical Society Museum was established on the property in 1986 through approval of Land Use Permit #LP2062-86. The East County Historical Society is currently seeking approval of a modification to the original land use permit to allow additional historical structures to be placed on the property.

The Nail family was one of the earliest families to settle in the area. The second Nail residence is a classic example of early Californian farmhouse architecture. The second residence has been well maintained over time and is currently in good original condition. The smaller residence is complete and is in mostly original condition but needs rehabilitation. Public access to the smaller residence is not currently allowed by the Historical Society.

The East County Historical Society Museum utilizes a number of other structures also located on the property. A pole barn (Museum #2), detached restroom, storage building, storage shed and railroad caboose are located on the property and are used in association with the museum. An old, smaller (88 square feet) structure, believed to have been used as a County Assessor’s building is located next to the school building and is used as an example of a ‘Mercantile’ building. A single wide trailer with an attached metal awning and antique building façade is located behind the Nail Home and is used as a ‘resource building’. Within the last few years, an old school house was moved to the Historical Society property from another property in the Knightsen area. It has been placed on a permanent foundation near the southeastern corner of the property and is not currently in use.

On the adjacent City of Brentwood-owned property, there are also a number of structures including two single-family residences and a barn which was part of Nail Ranch. The barn is located directly east of the Nail residence and is mostly complete but in a state of severe disrepair. The two single-family residences are located further north on the property and are boarded up and vacant. According to the City of Brentwood, the site may be used for a community center, but currently the city has no plans for the property.

According to Mr. Gonzales, four structures on the East County Historical property and one structure on the City of Brentwood property are to be recognized with the designation, the structures to be recognized include:

‘Original’ Nail Ranch Home
‘Second’ Nail Ranch Home (currently used as the East County Historical Museum)
School House building (644 square feet)
Mercantile/Assessor’s Building (88 square feet)
Original Nail Ranch Barn (City of Brentwood-owned property)

II. Knightsen Townsite (Area 2)


The second area nominated for designation is the original Knightsen Townsite, also known as downtown Knightsen, along with nearby portions of A.T. & S.F.R.R. railroad properties and one parcel owned by the County.

Downtown Knightsen consists of all the properties identified as the ‘Town of Knightsen’ in Book 20, Page 7 of the County Assessor’s Map. The current Assessor’s Parcel Page is based on a survey map of the ‘Knightsen Townsite’ that was approved by the County Board of Supervisors on August 1, 1921. The Townsite consists of approximately 5.72 acres bounded by Delta Road to the south, 2nd Street to the west and Knightsen Avenue to the northeast.

According to the latest assessor’s tax roll there are 27 individual assessor’s parcels in the downtown Knightsen area. Fourteen (14) single family residences, six commercial buildings, a fire station and two community buildings are located in the downtown Knightsen area to be designated as historical resources. Four of the parcels are vacant. A number of the single-family residences and commercial buildings within the proposed district are original buildings that were constructed in the early 1900’s, including the Knightsen Post Office and Knightsen Farm Center Building which was built in 1921, the Knightsen Saloon (1900) and the Duff Store and first telegraph building (1925).

The settlement of Knightsen was closely tied to the Knightsen Train Stop and rail yard; therefore, along with the Knightsen Townsite, the nomination material identified additional portions of land, located across Knightsen Avenue, to be included in the Area 2 historical district. Four of the properties are within the railroad right-of-way and the fifth is a 0.56-acre parcel owned by the County. The railroad parcels are identified by State Board of Equalization Numbers. The portions of the railroad property include; the original Knightsen Railway Switchyard (7.14 acres) from 1900; the Knightsen Train Station/Depot and Knightsen warehouse property (4.05 acres) from 1898 (now the Knightsen warehouse, ca. 1940); a 4.11-acre property located on the south side of Delta Road that was the location of the Kristich Pipe Factory (1920); and a 1-acre site south of Delta Road known as the Caboose Park.

The Knightsen Townsite, along with the other sites across Knightsen Avenue, to be designated and identified as Area 2, are important to the overall history and settlement of Eastern Contra Costa County. The nomination material included several historical facts relating to Knightsen providing additional support for the proposed designation. Some Knightsen historical facts have been provided below.

Knightsen Historical Facts

The founder of Knightsen, George Washington Knight, settled in the area in 1883 and named the town “Knightsen” in 1898. Mr. Knight propagated and introduced “The Klondike Almond” from Knightsen at the 1904 Worlds Fair in St. Louis.
In the 1920’s record shipments of milk (2,500 gallons a day) were shipped through Knightsen Depot.
Knightsen Garden Club established in 1936 continues today and meets in the historic Heidorn Building (3067 Knightsen Ave., APN: 0220-073-003)
Founded in 1934, the Knightsen 4H is the longest continuing 4H in Contra Costa County.
Passenger train service in Knightsen continued 77 years from 1899 to 1976.