Campbell, California Since 1999
City Beat
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Hugh Leigh bought 180 acres in 1874 ... The rest is history 
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Evening Stroll: Kerry Crawford (left) and Lisa Lemoin, with their pals Tug and Teddy, enjoy an early evening walk in the neighborhood that was once the orchard property of Hugh Leigh. By Moryt Milo Nestled between some of Campbell's busiest streets is a neighborhood that still echoes with memories of its farming past. Its orchards were cut down long ago, but the offspring of those farmers still occupy the land and willingly share their heritage and sense of community with new families moving into the neighborhood. The community known as the Pruneyard/Dry Creek area borders Bascom, Leigh and Hamilton avenues and Dry Creek Road. The land was owned by Hugh Leigh, who paid $16,300 for 180 acres in 1874. The original Leigh home is still located in the neighborhood, at 140 Peter Drive, one street west of Leigh Avenue. The home, known as the Galindo-Leigh House, was built by Juan Galindo in 1830 and is listed on the U.S. National Registry of Historic Places. "The home used to face out onto Leigh," says Tim Wright, the great-grandson of Hugh Leigh. "But as the area was developed, it made more sense to flip the front of the home onto Peter Drive." Wright, 50, and his wife and children still live on a portion of the old estate at 121 Leigh Ave, and although his children can't share Wright's experience of growing up surrounded by orchards and quiet county roads, he doesn't hesitate to say, "I am very proud of the fact that my kids are fifth-generation Leigh and living on the same street." Wright remembers his childhood neighborhood as bucolic at a time when all the Leigh property was part of Santa Clara County. This also includes the former cherry orchards on the east side of Leigh in Willow Glen. During Wright's youth, there were no sidewalks, and Leigh Avenue was an unassuming two-lane road that ended at Dry Creek. He and his sister, Amanda Collrett, played in the family prune, walnut and cherry orchards. "The west side of Leigh Avenue, south of Dry Creek and west of Midway, were prune and walnut orchards," he says. "My grandfather, George Leigh, was a prune farmer and had a dehydrator behind the house. There also was an irrigation ditch along Dry Creek that watered the orchards." The family lived in the middle of a walnut orchard and was surrounded by cherries and prunes. To get to Bagby Elementary School on Curtner Avenue, the children traversed around the orchards, down Leigh to Hamilton Avenue, and south on Bascom Avenue, because there weren't any cut-through streets in the 1950s, Collrett adds. Barbara Wright, Wright and Collrett's mother and the daughter of George Leigh, remembers how portions of the Leigh property were sold to developers during the 1950s and 1960s. "When my grandfather, Hugh Leigh, died, the property was divided among his four children, Alice Hume, Hughanna Cross, George Leigh and May Strangman, and each family member eventually began selling to developers," Barbara says. 
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Kid Friendly: A group of local youngsters get together to talk and ride on a warm spring evening in the Pruneyard/Dry Creek neighborhood. Barbara, a 1944 Campbell High School graduate, says George Leigh's portion of the property ran along the east side of Leigh Avenue, south along Dry Creek, west to Midway Street and north to Arroyo Seco Drive. Longtime residents remember buying their land from George Leigh before Leigh Avenue was widened from two lanes to four. Alice and Marvin Beutel purchased their property on the corner of Leigh Avenue and Arroyo Seco Drive in 1949. Their small lot is the exception rather than the rule because Leigh preferred selling his property in multi-acre sections. "My husband wanted to buy a piece of property in this area, and finally Mr. Leigh offered to sell him a quarter-acre," Beutel says. "But we couldn't afford the cost, $3,000, so my husband and his partner, who owned a service station business at the corner of Hamilton and Meridian avenues, split the cost, and his partner built next door." Beutel's Leigh Avenue property was originally much larger, but the family lost a portion of their land when the county widened the street. "The county took a lot of our property and also cut down the trees along the side of the road," she says. "It happened to all the homeowners that had property bordering Leigh Avenue." But Beutel also recalls the neighborhood's unique past, when mustard and orchards bloomed together. "When my 11-year-old daughter Barbara played in the orchards, the mustard plants were taller than her head. It was beautiful to see all that yellow mixed in with the fruit trees." Dorothy Perrconi Anderson also still lives on a portion of the 10-acre ranch her father, Victor Perrconi, purchased from Leigh. The family purchased the property when Anderson was 3 years old. She has lived there 80 years. 
Dry Creek - Back in Time: This photograph, taken in the 1930s, George Leigh churns up soil with his tractor as he works the orchard on the Leigh property. Photograph courtesy of Amanda Collrett The Perrconi farm bordered on Campbell and Leigh avenues and stretched west to Midway Street. Campbell Avenue and Midway Street didn't exist at the time, and the family home was built on the corner of the two present-day roads. "I still remember when Leigh Avenue was a dirt road and the water truck would come down the street and wet everything down," she says. "My bedroom used to face the orchard, and I remember the smell during blossom season. It was wonderful." Looking back, she chuckles when recalling how her father asked where she wanted her home built. " I told him I wanted to build on the back of the ranch, off Leigh, because I thought it was so beautiful," she says. "Little did I know they would turn it into a four-lane racetrack," says 83-year-old Anderson. There were other farmers who also bought 10-acre tracts from Leigh, she says. All the way down to Hamilton, the lots were sold as small farms. But in the late 1950s and early 1960s, developers started purchasing individual farms and converting the property into residential developments. 
Dry Creek - Back in Time: This photograph, taken in about 1920, shows the old Leigh home on Peter Drive. Photograph courtesy of Amanda Collrett "When the Leigh tract came through for development, people started to complain about my dad irrigating the orchards because water ran into their yards," Anderson says, "and he couldn't spray or tend the land." She says her father didn't want to sell, but he had little choice. Families like the Beutels, Wrights and Perrconis remember the strong neighborhood support and friendships among adults and children during the orchard years. It is a key aspect of the neighborhood that has been retained during the past 40 years. "I think it's one of the last bastions of Americana," Tim Wright says. "It feels like home even as you go back through the neighborhood. It's truly a community where people know their neighbors and talk to one another." Some of the area's newest residents, Radek and Kathryn Aster, who purchased a home on the corner of Midway Street and Bent Drive, agree. Radek Aster says, "We were quite a spectacle at the time. I had a leg injury from a cycling accident and my wife was six months pregnant. But lots of neighbors came by to welcome us. I think the community is a bit unusual in that way. " The Asters were attracted to the neighborhood for several reasons. Radek saw that the area has many small children; there is a limited amount of traffic; the homes have been individually built and the area has an established community feel. "It was quite remarkable, being off such a busy street as Bascom Avenue," he says. "I noticed Midway Street and Bent Avenue didn't cut through, and it felt safe and convenient." The Asters know the neighbors around their home through annual block parties, Halloween parades and other neighbor-organized activities. Buff Smith, who's lived on Arroyo Seco Drive since 1989, says the neighbors on her block are also special. They have summer block parties, watch out for each other's children and help each other whenever necessary. "The area has a real community feel," she says. "When we go out for walks, even at night the area feels safe. Everyone you meet is friendly and nice." She admits that the surrounding commercial area feels more congested, with the renovation of the Pruneyard Shopping Center and Hamilton Plaza, but says, "I'm afraid to move away because I don't know if I would ever find such wonderful neighbors again." Bonnie Meyer bought her home on Midway Street in 1962 and sees a neighborhood in transition. The area still has a significant number of original owners but many have moved on or passed away. But the appeal to live in this area is still strong, Meyer says. "The people across the street paid $700,000 for their home and then leveled to rebuild because they liked the neighborhood and wanted to stay here." Meyer, like many others who purchased their homes in the 1960s, remembers being part of the county and is glad the city of Campbell annexed the neighborhood and not San Jose. "After we were annexed, the city put stop signs on all the streets that meet at Midway and Peter Drive. Before then the cars drove very fast through the neighborhoods." Others, like 91-year-old Ridgeley Drive resident Mark Alexander, agree with Meyer and say annexation into Campbell provided the area with quality services. They feel that the city does a good job maintaining the streets and trees. When asked if he knew why all the streets north of Ridgeley had English names - Nottingham Way, Manchester Avenue, Dover Way - Alexander, a former real estate agent, couldn't say. Neither did 81-year Warren Miller, who wondered if it had to do with the Leigh family. Even the Leigh family was stumped and said the only name they recognized was McBain, a street that used the middle name of George Leigh. Whether the street names are traceable or not, Tim Wright thinks the acreage was developed with a lot of forethought. He thinks his ancestors would be proud and says pride of ownership can be seen in new and old families living in the area. "We think it's one of the stronger community neighborhoods in Santa Clara County," Wright says. It's a part of Campbell in which "for sale" signs are few, where new families are eager to move and longtime residents are content to stay. It's one of Campbell's many neighborhoods that citizens like longtime resident Anderson say is easy to love and live in one's entire life. |
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