The Land: Rancho Del Paso
The property on which the Club is located was part of the original Rancho Del Paso and was commonly known as the Haggin Grant. This Rancho originally contained more than 44,000 acres. The name of this great farm, the "Rancho Del Paso", is in itself of historical significance. Translated it means "The Ranch of The Pass" and was so named because the road leading to Emigrant Gap Pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains crossed diagonally through the Rancho. The hardy settlers of the 1840's and 50's used this deeply rutted wagon trail to make their way west in search of better lives.
The first recorded private ownership of the land began in the mid-1840's. John Sinclair, who had gone to work for Sutter in 1840, was sent to Honolulu to arrange for the consignment of goods where he met Elijah Grimes. Grimes persuaded Sinclair to occupy the Rancho Del Paso previously granted to him until Grimes could take legal title to the land. This was done on December 20, 1844 by Manuel Micheltorena, Governor of The Department of California under Mexican rule. Grimes became an important trader and political figure in San Francisco, and, upon his death in 1848, title to the 44,000 acre tract passed into the hands of his nephew, Hiram. In 1852, pioneer Samuel Norris acquired title to the grant which he held until 1859 when it was purchased by brothers-in-law James Ben Ali Haggin and Lloyd Tevis.
Rancho Del Paso took a decided turn under the new ownership by Haggin and Tevis; the pastoral life of farming and cattle ranching gave way to thoroughbred breeding and racing as Haggin realized that Sacramento's climate was perfect for this type of venture. In 1873, he hired John Mackay, the former owner of a trotter stable behind the Golden Eagle Hotel at 7th and K streets, as his ranch superintendent. Over the next 30 years, Mackay's expert training and knowledge, coupled with Haggin's wealth, made the Rancho world-famous.
The ranch was divided into two sections with two separate functions. The "Arcade" was Haggin's railroad terminal, having arranged to have the Southern Pacific Railroad cross through his property, located where Marconi Avenue and Auburn Boulevard now meet. This area served as the ranch's shipping center for its horses and featured 24 barns, some which could hold 64 box stalls. The "Bottom" was located near the American River where Watt Avenue and Arden Way intersect. Here, the most valuable thoroughbreds were kept on approximately 10,000 acres of paddocks. In addition to this, the Rancho had a
regulation mile race track and its own specially designed railroad cars used to transport the horses to New York for auction. At its peak, the ranch employed more than 100 people and had more than 600 thoroughbreds.Haggin's race horses were entered at leading tracks throughout the United States and Europe. In 1886, Haggin's namesake thoroughbred "Ben Ali" (depicted left) won the 12th running of the Kentucky Derby, setting a Derby record of 2:36 1/2. In one year alone, his horses won purses totalling $125,000, quite a sum for that time in history. Pictured (below right) are some of Haggin's other famous thoroughbreads included Midlothian, Daribin, Sir Modred, Tyrant, Salvator and Maxim.
By the turn-of-the-century, interest in horse racing suffered a decilne, and in 1905 Haggin discontinued breeding horses and the land's principal use was as a stock farm for cattle.
With the rapid growth of the Sacramento Valley, the Rancho Del Paso Land Company was incorporated in 1891. On December 22, 1910, the transfer of deed to the Sacramento Valley Colonization Company took place.
In 1916, the purchase of the initial 148.34 acres of land to Del Paso Country Club was completed at a cost of $22,253.80. On this historic site, Del Paso Country Club was built and grew into the landmark it is today.
In July of 1947, the Club purchased an additional 1.43 acres, now the location for the driving range tee and portions of the 3rd and 4th fairways, for the sum of $20,000.