Windmill Farm

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Take a tour of four iconic NYC structures that went from derelict to dazzling.

By MATTHEW PHENIX

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Find your home in Northern California.

Find your home in Wine Country.

Corcoran Global Living

BY E.J. KELLEY

A Fruitful Proposition

A rare constant in time’s kaleidoscope, the 16-acre farm at 11971 Old Redwood Highway in Healdsburg has been a comforting presence for generations. The 2,000-square-foot main residence, complete with its historic tank house, is one of the oldest structures in wine country—and the gambrel-roofed redwood barn, painted the customary red with white trim, stands with the posture of a structure half its age. Presently listed with Corcoran Global Living, it’s ready to add a new chapter to its uniquely California story, a tale punctuated by endurance, evolution, and the everlasting solace of the Sonoma Valley.

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One of the oldest extant homesteads in California's Russian River Valley, Windmill Farms has withstood history's every test. Now, it’s ready for something new.

NUMBER 475 PRESIDES OVER BEACON'S BUSTLING MAIN STREET SCENE.

One could argue the draws here have changed little since 1867, when Ransom Alexander Petray (1831-1906), then a mercantiler and framer in nearby Windsor, acquired this parcel as part of a 160-acre purchase. A dozen years earlier, the Arkansas native mustered his meager life’s savings of a few hundred dollars and embarked on a treacherous sea-and-land journey west, arriving in San Francisco ill with more than gold fever after a shortcut across the jungles of Nicaragua on a native guide’s back. He recovered, found a partner, and staked claims in the Sierras, running his strikes to the city by mule pack to be minted into coins. Daughter Nellie Mary Petray, in her memoirs, wrote “The risk of life was great, and adventures many were his.” Seeking a slowdown from the Gold Rush, he found a new life in Sonoma County — and shortly thereafter, a bride. Their union ended with her untimely passing shortly thereafter, but Petray, now a widower with two children, would remarry the following year. He’d settle his growing family on the land that would become Windmill Farms, building the three-bedroom, two-bath Italianate farmhouse that still stands today. The eight Petray children and their families were well-regarded locally, and many stayed close by: One son, a professor, served as principal of the Fourth Street School in Santa Rosa.

Over the years, the farm's holdings grew, peaking at some 475 acres. When prohibition all but dried up the Sonoma Valley’s burgeoning wine business, spare sacramental loopholes and the indisputable bootlegging, many enterprising growers in the area turned to prunes, replanting their fields with French and Imperial plums that flourished in the region's fair-tempered Mediterranean climate. These were often complemented with apples and mixed produce, helping allocate farmers’ financial fates across more than a single basket. Such a fruitful strategy helped Windmill weather the region’s crushing blow, as evidenced by historical documentation and the still-extant pruning barn. Foppiano Family Vineyards, still located next door, sustained itself during this time selling home winemaking kits. Some nearby farms reverted to vineyards following the Volstead Act’s repeal, but Windmill would not, instead helping contribute to the 24,000 acres of orchards that by 1936 helped Healdsburg earn the epithet “Buckle of the Prune Belt.” And while the post-WWII era saw a swift decline in demand for the dried fruit snack of an aging generation, the Petray property never flipped for the fruit of the vine, even despite a local winemaking renaissance that reached critical mass at the 1976 Judgment of Paris—the landmark tasting credited with heralding California’s wines to the world.

In the latter half of the 20th century, the remaining acreage fell into the hands of Dennis Conklin, a prominent San Francisco attorney who not unlike Petray a century earlier was taken by the promise of a simpler, more relaxed lifestyle. Together with his family, he breathed new life into the old farm, growing fruits and vegetables and boarding a menagerie of barnyard animals that included thoroughbred horses and a herd of goats. He’d share the farm’s bounty at local farmer’s markets, where he became a fixture for years. Today, the property’s remarkably-preserved state is a testament to the Conklin family’s stewardship. The main house retains a rare degree of period integrity that’s well-ripe for a magazine-worthy restoration. Stables, sheds, and various other outbuildings help conjure visions of Instagrammable farm stands, climbing hop vines, or any other combination of the curated and artisanal mainstays that have become the face of modern farming.

“The possibilities for this property are just endless. A creative buyer who appreciates history will have a field day bringing back this landmark and leaving their own, unique mark.”

A native of Pope County, Arkansas, Ransom Petray chased prosperity to California in 1854, settling in Sonoma County after three years in the gold fields. He acquired present-day Windmill Farms as part of a 160-acre tract on the Russian River, constructing the current residence (right) in 1867 for new beginnings with his second wife and their family.

DONNA NORDBY, CORCORAN GLOBAL LIVING