Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1047605
in 1795. Through the centuries, successive farm- ers have used these factors to their advantage. According to a 1960s article in a publication called Carmel Valley Portfolio that addresses the Valley's early 20th century growing heyday, "Agriculture land use can be readily seen at any time of the year. In the spring, the pear orchards which remain dazzle the eyes with their white blossoms. Carmel Valley pears are considered the finest and are exported as far away as the European continent." Barratt also wrote that by the early years of the 20th century, pear orchards occupied 400 acres of the valley floor. Period photographs show that the land that today are the sites of Carmel Valley Ranch (abutting Robinson Canyon Road) and Sanctuary Bible Church (at Carmel Valley and Schulte Roads) were planted in neat, orderly rows of pear trees. "The major pear varieties were Comice, Clairgeau, Winter Nelis, Anjou and Bosc," Barratt wrote. Barratt is also the author of Images of America: Carmel Valley, a fascinating Arcadia Publishing book that chronicles the history of the Valley. In that work, she relates that an 1881 history of Monterey County mentioned the Valley's major crops as "Beef, butter, cheese, potatoes, pork, whale oil and dried fish." Four decades later, the pear was king, and the Carmel Valley Fruit Growers Association was formed to manage the resource. Barratt says that the fruit was packed and trucked to Salinas—where between 90 and 100 refrigerat- ed train cars brimming with juicy pears were annually sent to far-flung markets. Twenty years 124 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 8 24 124 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 8 An aerial view circa 1953 of the then-nascent Carmel Valley Village. The Carmel Valley Airpark, an ill-fated residential An aerial view circa 1953 of the then-nascent Carmel Valley Village. The Carmel Valley Airpark, an ill-fated residential development, is at top right. Hay fields and orchards have now been displaced by residential and commercial buildings. development, is at top right. Hay fields and orchards have now been displaced by residential and commercial buildings. Photo: Carmel Valley Historical Society