‘A community with an ideal, in the shadow of the Purple Mountain’---is how a 1916/1918 brochure described Mount Diablo Estate, Diablo, California. In the informative book, Diablo’s Legacy by James C. Stone, we learn how the far-sighted entrepreneur R.N. Burgess founded the Club and the community of Diablo, beginning in 1912 when he purchased the Oakwood Stock Farm and other properties around Mt. Diablo.

Burgess established Mt. Diablo Villa Homes to handle the promotion and sale of lots. Well-to-do San Franciscans and Oakland residents were lured by the idea of owning a summer home in the sunny foothills of Mt. Diablo. Club membership was an added benefit. By 1917, the Mt. Diablo Country Club had 106 members, including the legendary William Randolph Hearst.

The Oakland, Antioch and Eastern Railroad laid tracks from Danville to the Mt. Diablo Country Club, where the original Casino on the Farm was used as a clubhouse. Today, few of the original homes remain in the community of Diablo. But the seclusion and charm of the country lifestyle still characterizes this quiet, close-knit community.

Built in 1917, the home at 1904 La Cadena is one of the original summer cottages that have withstood the passage of time. Located near the ‘crossroads’ of Diablo, where Alameda Diablo meets La Cadena, the .992 acre property is a treasured piece of Diablo history.

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