Green Oaks Ranch House
Also known as: The (Isaac) Steele Ranch
Why it's listed
Green Oaks Ranch House sits on 13 acres along Cabrillo Highway near Point Ano Nuevo in southern San Mateo County. The oldest part is a two-story, three-bay Greek Revival house of about 1863, built of redwood lumber for Isaac Chapman Steele and enlarged over the decades with side and rear additions. Outbuildings include a barn, a 1905 garage, a spring house, a trophy room of about 1930 and a packing shed of about 1933. Remnants of gardens and an orchard survive. The ranch was a base for the Steele Brothers, a pioneer dairy firm that began in Sonoma and Marin counties and moved to the San Mateo coast in 1862. The Steeles pioneered large-scale cheese production and marketing in California, and in the Civil War era made a 3,850-pound cheese that raised money for the Sanitary Commission. The house was the first the family built on land it owned, and the family papers kept here now reside at Stanford University.
Significance in brief: The ranch served as a headquarters for the Steele Brothers, pioneer dairymen who launched large-scale commercial cheese production in California. The firm gained national publicity for a giant 'Sanitary Cheese' made to benefit the Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. The house was the first built by any of the Steeles on their own landholdings, and the ranch preserved extensive business and family records.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 76000526, listed November 21, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 13 mi. S of Pescadero on CA 1, Pescadero |
|---|---|
| County | San Mateo County |
| Listed | November 21, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76000526 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival (original c. 1863 house, with later additions) |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Agriculture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as unoccupied and owned by San Mateo County. The packing shed is still in use and leased to a nearby farmer. Several dilapidated farm structures were demolished by the state parks department. |
| Acreage | 13 |
| Coordinates | 37.13376, -122.31212 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
Noted as vacant in the nomination. Nomination documents can be decades old; current status may differ. If you are considering buying an empty listed property, read the due-diligence checklist.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 76000526.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.