Outlaw Jesse James lived at this big California ranch. $38M listing heads to auction
A 14,750-acre ranch in San Luis Obispo County—where outlaws Jesse James and Frank James worked and lived while nursing bullet wounds from a bank robbery—is heading for auction in April after being listed for $38 million, according to Hall and Hall.
Hall and Hall is handling the auction in cooperation with California Outdoor Properties.
California history lessons aside, the diverse ranch at 5909 East Pozo Road in Santa Margarita offers an expansive family compound with a main 5,500-square-foot, seven-bedroom, four-bath “hacienda;” a 4,400-square-foot bunk house; and a 2,000-square-foot guest home.
There are 3,300 acres for Bureau of Land Management cattle grazing, 280 acres of high-density olive grove (that’s 202,865 trees) and a state-of-the-art olive mill. The ranch produces the La Panza Extra Virgin Olive Oil brand.
La Panza, which also grows alfalfa and hay, is believed to be one of the largest ranches for sale in California.
Drury James, uncle of the infamous outlaws Jesse and Frank James, owned La Panza ranch in the 1860s, Lance Doré of California Outdoor Properties told The Bee when the property hit the market in 2020.
The brothers visited and worked on the ranch in 1868 when Jesse was recovering from bullet wounds from a bank robbery. He came to bathe in the sulfur springs at Uncle Drury’s Hot Springs Hotel in Paso Robles, Doré added. The brothers’ stay was without incident and they left a year later, Doré added.
Drury James is also credited as a founder of Paso Robles.
Other features of the enormous estate ranch include:
- Abundant water—50 wells, three reservoirs, natural springs, San Luis Creek and several smaller creeks on the land
- A helicopter pad
- 51 certified parcels protected under the Williamson Act
- Electricity, phone and cellular service
- Zoned Agriculture within the “La Panza Ag Preserve”
The ranch is diversified with agriculture and cattle operations, with an abundance of water and good soils. The olive oil business is part of the overall production of the ranch, but a “tree to bottle” operation is unique, Doré said.
“La Panza has all the equipment and processes in place that creates their own unique brand,” he said. “The operation is capable of bottling up to 300,000 liters of high quality olive oil under the La Panza olive oil brand.”
He added that La Panza Extra Virgin Olive Oil was awarded the Silver Medal for its Outlaw and Chef’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil at the 2020 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition.
The bidding, which will be held onsite at the main residence, begins April 12, according to Hall and Hall.
This story was originally published March 15, 2022 at 2:29 PM.
