From settling in the 1880’s to row crops in the 1920’s, Solari ranch created its craft…

While the rush to grab gold drew many settlers to the Cali coast, the real gold was the discovery of the rich San Joaquin Valley loam fanned from the deepest soils of the Delta marshlands. Maybe gold didn’t pan out for most, but the first wave of European families - such as that of Louie Solari Sr. - took what they knew and applied it to a much kinder, flat terrain, free of rocks, nestled between rivers. At the time, orchards and fields didn’t fully crop up until the distribution channels of truck farming were created. This new method of transportation improved perishables’ ability to be delivered to the wider population. The movement spurred major agricultural innovation in the region: land-leveling, refrigeration, and eager labor from the next wave of European Immigrants in the 1920’s. The area became known as “Garden Acres”.