Fate Of San Ramon Valley's Oldest Historical Home In Question

SAN RAMON, CA — The Harlan House on San Ramon Valley Boulevard was built in the 1850s and has ties to the California Gold Rush. It's the oldest house in the San Ramon Valley, but it's never been designated as a historic preservation site and it's fallen into disrepair.

The fate of the old structure will likely come to a head this month.

Sohail Siddiqui owns land the Harlan House sits on. He wants to restore the home and build an assisted living center next to it, but he needs a variance from the city. Otherwise, in order to move forward with his construction plans, he would have to tear the old house down, according to a report from The Mercury News.

Siddiqui’s goal of preserving the house is strongly supported by San Ramon city officials, the San Ramon Valley Historic Foundation and the San Ramon Valley Historical Society, the news agency points out.

The matter is slated to come before the San Ramon Planning Commission later this month, and the home's history is likely to be discussed. According to the Contra Costa County Historical Society, in 1857-1858 Joel and Minerva Harlan built a new Gothic Revival house, called "El Nido," which still sits at the 19251 San Ramon Valley Blvd. site. The Harlan's home and ranch land were well known, and their nine children were among the builders of young California. Joel died in 1875 and Minerva in 1915.

Read the family's full story from the Contra Costa County Historical Society.