California Nursery Historical Park
HISTORY

From 1904 to 1917 W. V. Eberly was the manager of the nursery.  He had worked at the Nursery for many years and been trained by John Rock and was an accomplished nurseryman in his own right.  Eberly was well known among nurserymen and served as the second president of the newly formed California Nursery Association in 1912 (1)  and had been an officer in various positions in the Pacific Coast NurseryAssociation (2).   

Under Eberly’s management, California Nursery Company continued to grow and thrive.  As he writes in the CNC annual remarks, “the unequaled reputation which our trees have, not only on the Pacific Coast, but in almost every country in the world, is an indication of the great care we exercise in every detail of our chosen line of work”.  (3)

BIG CONTRACTS--PANAMA PACIFIC EXPOSITION 

In 1915, the Nursery received their largest and highest profile contract, providing landscaping and an exhibit for the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco which celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal.  It was also the fifty year anniversary of the Nursery.  Part of the plants CNC supplied for the Exposition were  over a hundred full grown palm trees.  In addition they set up a “redwood forest” exhibit which won the nursery a Medal of Honor certificate.  The level of expertise needed to successfully transport 100s of multi-ton trees was phenomenal and showcased CNC’s well deserved reputation in preparation and shipping of healthy trees.

LANDERS

William J. Landers, a San Francisco financier, was the majority owner of the CNCo up until 1907, owning 590 out of 1000 shares of CNC stock.  Landers had long interest in the nursery and had been one of the initial investors and, as of 1900, was the only original director remaining on the board. 

While serving as president, William J. Landers ordered the upgrading of the infrastructure of the Nursery including the construction of a Nursery Office and a Cottage for use as a summer home for the Landers family.  The office and cottage are both beautiful buildings and were reputedly designed by famed architect Bernard Maybeck, designer of the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. 

William J. Landers was injured during the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco and died in 1907.  His son, William H. Landers took over for his father in 1908 and by 1913 he served as president of the California Nursery Corporation.  W.H. Landers remained as president until 1917 when it was sold  to George Roeding.  

References:

Frederick Roeding, another German immigrant who made his money in banking in San Francisco, had invested in 80,000 acres in Fresno with a group of partners. The property was relatively worthless until the train was put through in 1870 and M.J. Church created an irrigation system that would allow farming in the area. In 1883 Frederick Roeding, in partnership with Gustav Eisen (a fig expert) started the Fancher Creek Nursery. By 1886 he was ready to write the business off as a learning experience but his oldest son, George Christian Roeding, persuaded his father to allow him to run the nursery for a year after his graduation from high school. His father wanted him to attend a university but George was determined to follow his passion for plants.

While George Roeding was successfully building up the Fancher Creek Nursery (in his first year he did not break even, he actually made a profit of $3500, to his father's astonishment and joy), Rock continued his exemplary work at the California Nursery Company.

California Nursery (1917-1928)