History
History of the Original Grimes Ranch
It all started with a San Francisco business man, Harold Grimes, marrying Gladys Chase, a nightclub singer in the Bay Area. He was a commodities stock broker dealing in Cuban coffee and when they married they moved to Cuba. After a successful few years in Cuba, they returned to San Francisco in the 1930's and he decided to become a "Gentleman Farmer". They bought many acres of land along the Old River in Tracy.
They had a 4-5 room houseboat built in San Francisco and brought it up through the river channels and docked on the Old River at their property. It was lived in while the ranch buildings and the Spanish style house was built.
He created an award-winning dairy producing Certified milk, that was known throughout the State as Idora Farms. He had the rest of the land planted in fields of tomatoes, asparagus, alfalfa and other crops as far as you could see. The horse barn was used for Galdys' Palomino horses, which she rode all over the property.
They had a busy and happy life here.
History (Continued)
Sorenson Ranch (1940s - 1990s)
In June 2023 we found a beautiful painting at our front gate. It was left by Terry With ( the great niece of Stanley & Mary Sorenson). The painting was a depiction of the main house on the property, in addition was a note from Terry with her phone number. Needless to say we called Terry and arranged a meeting to learn more about the history of the property. Thank you Terry!
According to Terry, the property was purchased from Harold Grimes in the 1940s by Stanley & Mary Sorenson. The property consisted of many acres beyond the current 6.18 acres. The property was used to raise crops such as asparagus, alfalfa and cattle for the dairy farm.
The dairy farm and associated crop activity continued into the 1960s. The Delta/Boat Cottage was built by Stanley in 1963 and is still a delight to this day. The property was inherited by Stanley and Mary's children Gail and Michael Sorenson in around 1980.
Gail Sorenson housed her Friesian horses in the stables that are still on the property. Most of the farm land was subdivided and sold off during the late 1980s-90s. The large Red Barn that housed much of the farm equipment and additional apartment burned down around 1986 due to some faulty electrical wiring.
Alexander Tree Service (Late 1990s - 2016)
The property was purchased in the late 1990s by Craig and Rose Lighty. They operated their business Alexander Tree Service from the property . Many of the improvements to the property were done by Craig and Rose. They added a 5000 square ft workshop complex consisting of seven shipping containers that were converted to individual workshops and storage complete with electricity and air-compressor system. These workshops were built on the ground formerly occupied by the large Red Barn (burned down in 1986). They were used for woodworking, welding and housing the tools necessary for hobbies and managing their Tree Service business. In addition, they added a 40 ft train car to the property that was used primarily for storage.
In 2014, Craig passed away when on a business trip and Rose was left to maintain the business and property. She sold the property in 2016.
Veterinary Business (2016 - 2018)
The property was purchased by Gregory and Doug Lawson in the Veterinary business. Their primary business was breeding French Bull Dogs in which they built a 30 stall kennel to house the puppies.
Machi Ranch (April 2018 - present)
We purchased the property in April 2018 and our adventure begins! We will always have a "project" to keep us busy :)
Living the Dream!
Cheers and God Bless!