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Jess Ranch Development -Southwest corner of Jess Ranch Pkwy and Old Apple Valley Rd
Dr. Harris Garcelon and his wife homesteaded the original 160 acres of what is now the Jess Ranch area in 1910. They advertised the ranch as being an ideal climate to cure asthma and tuberculosis. It later became a sanitorium for World War I shell shocked victims. The property also served as a guest ranch where early cowboy movies starring Tom Mix and William S. Hart were filmed. Although Dr. Garcelon had a vision of his ranch being developed into a master planned community, with a golf course, swimming pool and other amenities, the Great Depression put an end to those plans. He sold the ranch to his nephew, Stoddard Jess, in 1932. Jess teamed up with his neighbor Gay Lewis, a homesteader since 1901, to start a 900 acre turkey farming operation. From a modest start with 200 birds, Jess Ranch developed into one of the largest integrated turkey ranches in the western United States. The ranch had its own hatchery, with a capacity of 80,000 eggs per setting. People could buy eggs, poults, and meat birds.
Wanting to make use of his water rights, Jess built a series of nineteen impound lakes. He was able to raise 2,000,000 trout of Royal Coachman brand per year. Starting in 1955, he opened his angling ponds to fisherman, charging a $1.00 entry fee plus .35 cents per fish caught, with no limits and no licensed required. The ranch began loosing money in the early 1970's and the decision to cease turkey production ceased in 1977 and the trout farm was closed in 1994. Trout farming at the original farm was reinstated in 2000. The lakes are open and stocked with both trout and catfish.