The night we arrived at home we received a message asking us to go up the following day to see the property that had been purchased for the Pacific College. The brethren thought that this property possessed many advantages over that at Buena Vista, and as the owner of the Buena Vista place could not give us a clear title, it was thought advisable to purchase this. We left home early on the morning of September 10, driving in my easiest carriage. It was a five-mile climb to the top of the hill; then when about one mile from the property the country became more level.6BIO 184.3

Elder [C. W.] Irwin met us at the place and showed us something of the grounds and buildings. As we drove along I marked the advantages over the Buena Vista property. True, there was not here the fine costly building that we found on the Sonoma property, but there were a number of buildings in good repair, and such as could be easily adapted to the needs of the school. The largest of the dwellings was a house of thirty-two rooms [the resort hotel], and in addition to this there were four cottages. All the rooms were well planned, and substantially but not extravagantly furnished. Everything about houses and grounds looked clean and wholesome.—Letter 110, 1909.6BIO 184.4

Many advantages came to us in the house furnishings. The beds were all supplied with two good mattresses, one hair mattress and one of cotton wool, feather pillows and woolen blankets, some of which are very good indeed. All the floors are covered, some of the rooms with carpets, but most with straw matting. The bed linen was all in good order.6BIO 185.1

There are sixteen hundred acres of land in the property, 105 of which is good arable land. There are twenty acres of orchard, bearing apples, pears, plums, prunes, peaches, figs, grapes, and English and black walnuts. There are thirty acres of alfalfa. We were much pleased with the fruit that we saw. At the time of our first visit there were many workers on the ground taking care of the prunes, some gathering the fruit and others preparing it for drying. Forty-five tons of prunes have been gathered from the orchard this year.—Letter 114, 1909.6BIO 185.2

The large corn barn was filled to the roof with the best of lucerne [alfalfa] hay harvested from the land. In the carriage house we saw eight buggies and wagons. There were twenty milk cows, thirteen horses, and six colts included in the trade....6BIO 185.3

We are thankful for the abundant supply of pure water flowing from numerous springs, and thrown into large tanks by three hydraulic rams; also for the good buildings, for the good farmland, and for the hundreds of acres of woodland, on which there are many thousands of feet of saw timber. We are thankful also for the machinery which is all in such good order, for the furniture, which though it is not fine, is good and substantial; for the fruit that is canned and dried, and which will be much appreciated by teachers and students this first year of school....6BIO 185.4

We need have no fear of drinking impure water, for here it is supplied freely to us from the Lord's treasure house [300,000 gallons a day]. I do not know how to be grateful enough for these many advantages, but feel like putting my whole trust in the Lord, and as long as my life is spared to glorify my Redeemer.—Letter 110, 1909.6BIO 186.1

Now I have tried to describe this place to you, though I have not seen it as fully as some others. I was a very sick woman on the day that I visited the property, and was not able to climb more than one flight of stairs in the main building. I did not dare to excite my heart by over exertion. But it was thought best that I should visit the place as soon as possible and pass my judgment on it as a site for our school. I am very pleased with the place; it has many advantages as a school location....6BIO 186.2

When we learned that we were not going to be able to secure the Sonoma property, an assurance was given me that a better place was provided for us, where we could have many advantages over our first selection. As I have looked over this property, I pronounce it to be superior in many respects. The school could not be located in a better spot....6BIO 186.3

In Prof. C. W. Irwin and wife we have excellent workers. Professor Irwin will be the principal of the school.— Ibid.6BIO 186.4

On the following Sunday, September 12, a phone call came from Oakland, where the camp meeting was being held. The discussion of the new college was slated to come up the next day. Could Ellen White come?6BIO 186.5

Indeed she could. She went down Monday morning and that afternoon spoke for twenty minutes on the advantages of the Angwin site. There was no legal action needed, since the purchasing committee—Elders Knox, Cottrell, and Haskell—had, at the Fresno camp meeting a year before, been given power to act. Ellen White's address went far to confirm the faith of the people in the new project and ensure that their pledges would be paid off (Pacific Union Recorder, September 23, 1909; Manuscript 59, 1909).6BIO 186.6

When the right time came, how quickly things fitted together! Everyone was anxious to find a good school site and get the work going. There was a conditioning period for nearly a year as principles were reviewed and sites inspected and money raised. Guidance came through the Spirit of Prophecy, but responsible men were not relieved of diligent study, tireless seeking, and the making of decisions.6BIO 186.7

The Angwin resort property was not on the market when the search for a new school site was entered upon. The repeated delays held everything in abeyance until the ideal property became available. Then, with money in hand, the fully equipped and stocked Angwin property was purchased with confidence, and within a very few weeks the school was ready for opening in late September. It was capable of caring for 150 students. Everything was on hand, just ready to put into use. All considered it providential. Of the experience Ellen White wrote, “Now this lesson given us at this time of our great necessity was one of the most remarkable adventures in our experience.”—Letter 187, 1909.6BIO 187.1

But there were some who did not see it that way. They were the few businessmen who in the hope of large returns from land speculation—in spite of counsel not to do so—had purchased large tracts of land of mediocre quality near the Buena Vista property.6BIO 187.2

The Angwin Property a Better Place

Faculty and Staff