History

 

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Red Bank Oaks

History

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The Irish Ranch

In October 1917, Mr. Carroll Irish purchased 1,952 + acres of land, part of  which is now known as Red Bank Oaks, for $10.00 in gold coins. Carroll Irish was a sheep rancher and he planned to use the land for grazing. Over the next decade, Mr. Irish made additional purchases so that by November 1926, he had acquired 6,564+ (including all 2,682+ acres now known as Red Bank Oaks). All the land in Red Bank Oaks had been purchased for under $40 – most of which was paid in gold coins.

Mr. Carroll Irish was born in Minnesota on August 28, 1875 and moved with his parents (Lorenzo Irish and Eveline Anville [Knight] Irish), older sister Nina Ethleen Irish, and younger brother Clarence Lorenzo Irish to Red Bluff, California in 1889 when he was just 14 years old.

In 1901, Carroll Irish married Josephine May Foster and together raised three daughters (Almeda, Ethleen, and Esther) at the Irish homestead. The girls attended Burr Valley Elementary School which, at that time, was located on the property of Mr. Balis Bell located immediately west of Red Bank Oaks on Balis Bell Road. Though the school no longer stands, it was once the center point of a small community of ranchers.

The Irish ranch was left to the three daughters after Josephine and Carroll Irish passed away.

Edwin E. Day and Frances I. Day

In 1962, Edwin E. Day and Frances I. Day purchased 2,682.46 acres of the Irish Ranch [what is now known as Red Bank Oaks] from the Irish daughters for $49,000. The 2,682+-acre ranch was then informally renamed Clover Creek Ranch.

Robert Strasburg, Margaret Desmond, Samuel Weeks, James Couch

In July 1970, Robert Strasburg, President of Call Realty Company, Inc., purchased Edwin E. and Frances I. Day’s interest in the land.  Mr. Strasburg surveyed the land, constructed about 23 miles of roads and easements, and established an unincorporated property owners' association and CC&Rs.  The property owners' association and CC&Rs were established to maintain the roads and manage cattle grazing leases to cover part or all of the association's costs.  Then, between November 1970 and August 1971, Mr. Strasburg sold the land in seventeen 160-acre ± blocks (sets of four 40±-acre parcels each).

The unincorporated association was named the Clover Creek Ranch Association.  Mr. Strasburg and the directors of the unincorporated landowners’ association [Samuel Weeks, James Couch, and Margaret Desmond], then led the formal incorporation of the landowners’ association in February 1976.  The corporation was registered with the State of California and the name of the ranch was changed from Clover Creek Ranch Association to Ridgecreek Property Owners’ Association to accommodate concerns expressed by a neighboring rancher who had historically referred to his own ranch as “Clover Creek Ranch.”

In 1977, Mr. Strasburg elected to turn back to Edwin E. Day the remaining interest he held in the land (forty-eight 40±-acre parcels) so that he could focus on more pressing matters.  Mr. Edwin E. Day and Frances I. Day soon replaced Samuel Weeks and James Couch as directors of the newly incorporated Ridgecreek Ranch.  The new directors were now:  Mr. Edwin E. Day [President], Ms. Margaret Desmond [Vice President] and Mrs. Frances I. Day [Secretary-Treasurer].

Mr. Strasburg would later marry Ms. Margaret Desmond, one of the original 17 landowners of the unincorporated Clover Creek Ranch.  Mr. Strasburg passed away December 26, 2007 and Mrs. [Desmond] Strasburg passed away October 31, 2016. The last remaining Red Bank Oaks parcel belonging to the Strasburg Family Trust was passed on to two grandsons.

Haskel H. Young and Patricia A. Young

In November 1980, Haskel H. Young and Patricia A. Young [Red Bank Properties and Land Ho Company] purchased from Edwin E. and Frances I. Day the remaining interest formerly turned back by Mr. Strasburg.  A special meeting was then held by the Board of Directors whereby Mr. and Mrs. Young replaced Edwin E. Day and Frances I. Day as directors.  The new directors were now:  Mr. Haskel H. Young [President], Ms. Margaret Desmond [Vice President] and Mrs. Patricia A. Young [Secretary-Treasurer].

In July 1981, another special meeting was held whereupon it was agreed to change the association’s name from Ridgecreek Property Owners’ Association to Red Bank Oaks Property Owners’ Association.

Ms. Margaret Desmond then retired from the Board of Directors in October 1981.  Mr. and Mrs. Young, however, went on and served as directors of Red Bank Oaks Property Owners’ Association for nearly two decades.  Mr. Haskel H. Young served for 18 years [17 years as President, 1 year as Vice President] before retiring in 1998 and Mrs. Patricia A. Young served for 16 years [15 years as Secretary-Treasurer and 1 year as Secretary] before retiring in 1996.  Both led the association’s activities while simultaneously promoting and selling their interest in Red Bank Oaks.  Mr. Haskel H. Young passed away in June 2000.  Mrs. Patricia A. Young gave up ownership in Red Bank Oaks via foreclosure in January 2012.

Red Bank Oaks Landowners Determine the Future

The association of Red Bank Oaks landowners is crucial in protecting the privacy and primitive nature of the lands.  The Red Bank Oaks Property Owners’ Association is operated by the landowners for the landowners.  All new Red Bank Oaks property owners become defacto stockholders of this organization.  The unity of 69 privately owned parcels requires the Association to operate as a democracy.

As a Red Bank Oaks landowner, it is up to you to determine what Red Bank Oaks becomes.  The CC&Rs, under which all Red Bank Oaks landowners are legally united, define the parameters and legally binding restrictions of the Association’s administration.  The CC&Rs may be amended by a majority vote of all the landowners and any landowner may present a motion to amend the CC&Rs at the annual landowners’ meeting.

Red Bank Oaks landowners, THE FUTURE OF RED BANK OAKS IS IN YOUR HANDS!

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Copyright © 2008 Red Bank Oaks Property Owners' Association
Last modified: 06/27/17