Many believe the enormous green and white barn on Magnolia Road was the Edgemoor Polo or Dairy Barn. That’s false.
The Edgemoor Operation, also known as the Edgemoor Stock Farm, was the world’s biggest purebred stock-breeding farm. Walter Dupee and his father John created Edgemoor Stock Farm in Santee, CA in 1908, according to a 1920s newspaper story.A great post.
The farm has 680 acres with “modern science-based” buildings and equipment. Edgemoor Farm was home to 600 of the best Guernsey breeders and prize winners. Dr. JA Woodside, “his advisor and veterinarian,” helped Mr. Dupee create the herd.
Mr. Dupee said he used to sell milk, but it was a loss-making venture. The demand for “high test milk” was insufficient to keep him selling milk. That was his main source of income. He sold one bull for $32,000 (about $420,000 now) and had another at $50,000 (approximately $653,000 today).
Edgemoor also had excellent pig breeding stock. The Dupees paid $8,000 for one boar and $2,000 for another to improve their breeding stock of boars. Edgemoor Farm bred “soft-sided, smooth-sided pigs”. The Edgemoor Farm was famous for its breeding emphasis.
For a dairy farm rather than a breeding farm, the Dupee’s sold the farm in November 1921 to GL Stroeback, president of the Cuyamaca National Bank. They bought the Casa Grande Apartments on Park Blvd and University from Stroeback. At the time, the Casa Grande Apartments were considered the finest in California. Sadly, these apartments have vanished.
They are currently seeking volunteers to help with: Event Staffing, Collecting Oral Histories, Assisting with Historic Site research, Genealogy research of historic Santee families, Archiving, Transcribing and data entry, Cleanin, Greeting museum visitors during opening hours, Assisting with curating displays and Writing articles concerning Santee history for our newsletter. Do these projects interest you? Does volunteering at a museum or historical society sound exciting to you? Well, it is, we promise! You’ll meet new people, learn some valuable skills, and most importantly contribute to your community. There is so much to do in Santee, what excuse do you have not to volunteer with them? Next blog >>>
People come to the museum to learn about their history or look at history, or just enjoy being a member of a group. We have many members who have been here as long as I can remember and wonder who will replace them when they are gone. Who is going to take their place? They are enthusiastic that our history will be preserved and continue to be around for generations.