California Nursery Company

John Rock was born Johannes Rock in Germany, on August 19, 1838. He immigrated to the United States in 1852 and fought on the Union side in the Civil War before settling in California in 1863.

John Rock had three nursery locations in San Jose, California, on Coyote Creek. The catalog for "Rock's Nurseries" for 1885 says that John Rock had 19 years of experience in California, putting the date of establishment at around 1865. Rock's Nurseries continued on some time after the establishment of the California Nursery Company. The San Jose City Directory for 1887 has advertisements for both the "California Nursery Company" in Niles and "Rock's Nurseries" in San Jose.{{Cite web|title=1887 San Jose City Directory :: San Jose City Directories - Business Classified Sections (SJPL California Room)|url=http://digitalcollections.sjlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/directories/id/1634/rec/2|access-date=2018-01-18|website=digitalcollections.sjlibrary.org|page=x,xx}} There was a "Rock's Nurseries" catalog for 1888. Andrew P. Hill took photos of Rock's Nurseries{{Cite web|last=Hill|first=Andrew P.|title="California Nursery at Niles"; History San Jose – Collecting, preserving and celebrating the Santa Clara Valley|url=https://www.historysanjose.org/wp/|access-date=2020-11-29|language=en-US}} and the California Nursery Company in Niles.

The San Jose Weekly Mercury{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=OUR BONANZA. GROWTH OF THE FRUIT INTEREST OF SANTA CLARA COUNTY. Immense Tracts of New Orchards— Who Supplied the Trees-A Progressive Nursery; San Jose weekly Mercury 27 December 1883 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=SJWM18831227.2.32&srpos=1&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-rock%27s+nursery+alviso-------1|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-02|website=cdnc.ucr.edu|page=6}} reported on Rock's Nurseries in 1883, about a year before the California Nursery Company was established in Niles.

In 1884, the California Nursery Company was established in Niles, California (now a district in Fremont).{{Cite web|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PRP18861127.2.30|title=Pacific Rural Press 27 November 1886 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|website=cdnc.ucr.edu|access-date=2018-01-15}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=The Nursery Business; Pacific Rural Press 14 April 1888 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=PRP18880414&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-rock%27s+nursery+alviso-------1|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2021-01-02|website=cdnc.ucr.edu|page=1}} The December 6, 1884 Pacific Rural Press announced "Nursery Enterprise.--It seems to be the time for great things in the nursery business. It is now announced that John Rock, R. D. Fox, James Hutchison, Thomas Meherin and Wm. J. Landers have associated themselves together in a nursery enterprise. A tract of 500 acres of land near Niles, Alameda county, has been purchased and leased for 15 years to the association, and improvements will begin at once. It is expected to have trees ready for delivery in the fall of 1886. Messrs. Rock & Fox will continue to sell their present stock, and will propagate no more fruit trees on their San Jose establishments but will confine their attention to ornamental growths."{{Cite web |title=Pacific Rural Press 6 December 1884 — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PRP18841206.2.22&srpos=197&e=--1874---1884--en--20--181--txt-txIN-%252522john+rock%252522-------1 |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}} The property was bought from Jonas Gilman Clark.{{Cite web |title=Daily Alta California 19 October 1884 — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=DAC18841019.2.37&srpos=29&e=--1874---1884--en--20--21--txt-txIN-%252522john+rock%252522-------1 |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}} An existing adobe building that was built around the 1830s-1840s predates the nursery and is on the National Register of Historic Place. {{Cite web |date=June 2002 |title=State of California - The Resources Agency; DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION; PRIMARY RECORD |url=https://fremont.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21233/Vallejo-Adobe-Primary-Record?bidId=}}{{Cite web |title=NATIONAL REGISTER DIGITAL ASSETS - California Nursery Company Guest House & Jose de Jesus Vallejo Adobe |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/71000130}}

In 1886 the Pacific Rural Press reported on their progress after almost 2 years of operation.{{Cite web |title=Pacific Rural Press 27 November 1886 — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=PRP18861127.2.30&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1 |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}} In 1888 the Pacific Rural Press wrote about "The Nursery Business" and included several etchings of the new nursery.{{Cite web |title=Pacific Rural Press 14 April 1888 — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=PRP18880414.2.2&srpos=1&e=------188-en--20--1--txt-txIN-california+Nursery+company+------- |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}

The year 1865 is often cited for the establishment of the California Nursery Company and has caused much confusion. Charles Burr, a longtime employee of the nursery said in 1970 that 1865 was "used as the beginning date of the California Nursery for purposes of anniversaries." The date of 1865 is the establishment of "Rock's Nurseries" in San Jose, not the California Nursery Company. Sometime around or before the 1906-1907 catalog, the words "Established 1865" were added to the front cover along with "Incorporated 1884"{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cataloguepriceli00unse|title=Catalogue and price list of the California Nursery Co. 1906-1907|others=Sonoma County Wine Library}} and it was carried forward. Another book that was used as "proof" that the California Nursery Company started in 1865 was Pen Pictures of the "Garden of the World."{{Cite book|last=Foote|first=Horace S.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N_lAAQAAMAAJ&q=california+nursery|title=Pen Pictures from the Garden of the World, Or, Santa Clara County California|date=1888|publisher=Lewis Publishing Company|page=174|language=en}} However, it clearly states that John Rock and partners established the California Nursery Company in 1884 in Niles. Catalogs for "Rock's Nurseries" in the Santa Clara Valley are available for the years 1873-1888 are available from UC Davis.{{Cite web|last=Rock|first=John|title=Inventory of the Nursery and Seed Catalog Collection O-009|url=http://pdf.oac.cdlib.org/pdf/ucdavis/spcoll/o009_cuvh.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907052453/http://pdf.oac.cdlib.org/pdf/ucdavis/spcoll/o009_cuvh.pdf |archive-date=2015-09-07 }} Advertisements for both the California Nursery Company and Rock's Nurseries are printed in directories and newspapers at least up to 1887.{{Cite web |title=1887 San Jose City Directory :: San Jose City Directories - Business Classified Sections (SJPL California Room) |url=http://digitalcollections.sjlibrary.org/cdm/ref/collection/directories/id/1634 |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=digitalcollections.sjlibrary.org}}

At first, the nursery was a wholesaler providing grape vines, roses, ornamentals, and fruit trees to California's growing agricultural industry. Early on it supplied plants for the Palo Alto estate of California tycoon Leland Stanford. Later, in addition to its wholesale business, the nursery started a retail operation with ornamental trees and plants for homes and gardens.

John Rock was interested in creating new plant hybrids and worked with West Coast plant breeders like Luther Burbank. {{Citation needed|date=December 2021}} His 1888 catalog{{Cite book|last1=California Nursery Co|url=https://archive.org/details/pricelistoffruit1888cali|title=Price list of fruit and ornamental trees small fruits, evergreens, roses etc.|last2=Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection|date=1888|publisher=Niles, Calif. : California Nursery Company|others=National Agricultural Library U. S. Department of Agriculture}} featured some 500 varieties of fruit trees, 700 ornamental shrubs, and 270 roses. By the time Rock died, his nursery had introduced more new plant varieties to California than any other.

After Rock's death in 1904, the nursery was managed by W. V. Eberly.{{Cite book|last1=California Nursery Co|url=https://archive.org/details/CAT31298934|title=Catalogue and price-list. fruit and ornamental trees, evergreens, palms, roses, etc., 1904-1905|last2=Landers|first2=Wm J.|last3=Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection|date=1904|publisher=Niles, Calif. : California Nursery Company|others=National Agricultural Library U. S. Department of Agriculture}} William J. Landers, insurance businessman, was associated with the nursery since its beginning. He was President at his death from "Nervous Prostration" in 1908, which he had suffered from since the 1906 fire in San Francisco.{{Cite web|title=San Francisco Call 6 February 1908 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19080206.2.62&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-19|website=cdnc.ucr.edu|page=7|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719044533/https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19080206.2.62&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN--------1 |archive-date=2021-07-19 }}

In 1918, the company announced a new trademark, a logo with a grizzly bear.{{Cite web|title=The Township Register 1918-08-24 {{!}} California Revealed|url=https://californiarevealed.org/islandora/object/cavpp:49426|access-date=2021-12-24|website=californiarevealed.org}} According to the family, the logo was discontinued because of a conflict with Stark Brothers logo. The nursery later embraced the "Old Adobe" logo after the historic Vallejo adobe was transformed into the nursery's Guest Lodge.{{Cite book|last1=California Nursery Co.|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/247129|title=1931 garden book|last2=Co|first2=California Nursery|last3=Roeding|first3=George C.|last4=Collection|first4=Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog|date=1930|publisher=California Nursery Co.|location=Niles, California}} {{Cite web|title=NILES NURSERY COMPANY Trademarks :: Justia Trademarks|url=https://trademarks.justia.com/owners/niles-nursery-company-23446/|access-date=2022-01-26|website=trademarks.justia.com}} One of the earliest appearances of the "Old Adobe" logo appears in the 1945 catalog.{{Cite book|last=California Nursery Co.|url=http://archive.org/details/cafrcnc_000006|title=1944 Orchard and Garden Book|date=1944-01-01}}

The California Nursery Company provided trees and other plants at many world's fairs. Some are:

• Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, first US World's Fair - "Fruit for the Centennial" John Rock (Rock's Nurseries) sent pears and plums {{Cite web |title=Pacific Rural Press 2 September 1876 — California Digital Newspaper Collection |url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=PRP18760902.2.13&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-halladay+standard+windmill-ARTICLE------1 |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}
• World's Columbian Exposition of 1893
• California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894
• Panama-Pacific International Exposition 1915
• Golden Gate International Exposition 1939-1940

In 1917, the nursery was bought by George C. Roeding, owner of Fancher Creek in Fresno{{Cite book|last=Kruckeberg|first=Henry W.|title=George Christian Roeding; A Tribute|publisher=The Kruckeberg Press|year=1930|isbn=|location=|pages=}} and other operations. In July 1918, stock shares were issued to George C. Roeding in exchange for real property.{{Cite web|title=Los Angeles Herald 15 July 1918 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=LAH19180715.2.370&srpos=5&e=------191-en--20--1-byDA-txt-txIN-%22california+nursery%22+-ARTICLE---1918---1|access-date=2021-12-24|website=cdnc.ucr.edu}} George C. Roeding brought with him a wealth of horticultural and nursery business experience. {{Cite web |title=George Christian Roeding, 1868-1928 : the story of California's leading nurseryman and fruit grower. A tribute written and prepared by direction of the ... |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b117020&seq=1 |access-date=2024-10-27 |website=HathiTrust |language=en}}

Roeding's son, George C. Roeding, Jr. took over management of the nurseries in 1926. George C. Roeding died in 1928. The Township Register noted in 1929 that 100 to 150 men worked for the nursery and that their annual turnover of stock exceeded $200,000.The nursery grew a half million roses. A foreign correspondent managed orders from Mexico, Central America, and South America. Other shipments went to China, Japan, India, Italy, Spain, Germany, Great Britain, Australia, Canada, France, Denmark, and Russia. {{Cite web|title=The Township Register 1928-04-19 {{!}} California Revealed|url=https://californiarevealed.org/islandora/object/cavpp:58271|access-date=2021-12-29|website=californiarevealed.org}}

In 1940, the northern California plant breeder Albert Etter began a partnership with the CNC with the goal of patenting and then marketing Etter's best apple varieties. The CNC introduced six Etter varieties in its 1945 catalog, including Pink Pearl. A seventh variety was introduced later.

The CNC ultimately became the largest firm of its kind west of the Rockies. It was located close enough to the San Francisco Bay Area that it became a destination for gardeners and horticulturists.

From 1932 to the mid-1960s, the California Nursery hosted annual bulb shows in spring that could draw up to 5000 visitors over a weekend. Frances Baldwin Roeding, wife of George C. Roeding, Jr. helped plan the annual bulb shows.{{Cite news|date=1995-05-31|title=Francis Baldwin Roeding Obituary|pages=13|work=The San Francisco Examiner|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32918349/francis-baldwin-roeding-obituary/|access-date=2021-05-04}} In the summer, the nursery held rose shows.

Articles by George C. Roeding, Jr.:

• "Planting for Homes Most Important" 21 April 1932{{Cite web|title=Oakland Tribune 21 April 1932 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=OT19320421.1.12&srpos=27&e=-------en--20--21--txt-txIN-Rose+garden+niles-------1|access-date=2021-01-22|website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}
• "Rose Show to be Held at Niles Saturday and Sunday" 19 June 1932{{Cite web|title=Oakland Tribune 19 June 1932 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=OT19320619&e=-------en--20--61--txt-txIN-Rose+garden+niles-------1%27|access-date=2021-01-22|website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}
• "Narcissus Bulbs Now Ready for Spring Gardens" 18 September 1932{{Cite web|title=Oakland Tribune 18 September 1932 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=OT19320918.1.32&srpos=35&e=------193-en--20--21--txt-txIN-Spring+show+niles----1932---1|access-date=2021-01-22|website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}
• "New Crop of Roses are Ready for Eastbay Gardens" 4 December 1932{{Cite web|title=Oakland Tribune 4 December 1932 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=OT19321204.1.24&srpos=159&e=-------en--20--141--txt-txIN-Rose+garden+niles-------1|access-date=2021-01-22|website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}
• "Jonquils and Daffodils Provide March Gardens" 19 March 1933{{Cite web|title=Oakland Tribune 19 March 1933 — California Digital Newspaper Collection|url=https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=OT19330319.1.12&srpos=22&e=------193-en--20--21--txt-txIN-Spring+show+niles----1933---1|access-date=2021-01-22|website=cdnc.ucr.edu}}

Articles in the Tri-City Voice:

• "California Nursery Historical Park: Horticultural History" January 14, 2020 {{Cite web|title=01-14-20 {{!}} Tri-City Voice|url=https://tricityvoice.com/01-14-20/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-04|page=36|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807144013/https://tricityvoice.com/01-14-20/ |archive-date=2020-08-07 }}
• "Fremont's Floral Treasure: The Display Gardens" January 28, 2020 {{Cite web|title=01-28-20 {{!}} Tri-City Voice|url=https://tricityvoice.com/01-28-20/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-04|page=12|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203122649/https://tricityvoice.com/01-28-20/ |archive-date=2020-02-03 }}
• "Preserving History, the Environment, Wildlife February 11, 2020 {{Cite web|title=02-11-20 {{!}} Tri-City Voice|url=https://tricityvoice.com/02-11-20/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-04|page=1|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216161217/https://tricityvoice.com/02-11-20/ |archive-date=2020-02-16 }}
• "An Historical Archive in the California Nursery Office" March 24, 2020 {{Cite web|title=03-24-20 {{!}} Tri-City Voice|url=https://tricityvoice.com/03-24-20/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-04|page=11|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329151326/https://tricityvoice.com/03-24-20/ |archive-date=2020-03-29 }}
• "California Nursery: The Packing Shed" April 7, 2020 {{Cite web|title=04-07-20 {{!}} Tri-City Voice|url=https://tricityvoice.com/04-07-20/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-04|at=5|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419222823/https://tricityvoice.com/04-07-20/ |archive-date=2020-04-19 }}
• "California Nursery: The Garden Store" May 5, 2020 {{Cite web|title=05-05-20 {{!}} Tri-City Voice|url=https://tricityvoice.com/05-05-20/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-04|page=7|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513201320/https://tricityvoice.com/05-05-20/ |archive-date=2020-05-13 }}
• "California Nursery: Roeding Family House" May 19, 2020 {{Cite web|title=05-19-20 {{!}} Tri-City Voice|url=https://tricityvoice.com/05-19-20/|access-date=2021-05-04|language=en}}
• "California Nursery: The Boxed Oak Trees" June 23, 2020 {{Cite web|title=06-23-20 {{!}} Tri-City Voice|url=https://tricityvoice.com/06-23-20/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-05-04|page=12|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807151131/https://tricityvoice.com/06-23-20/ |archive-date=2020-08-07 }}

Articles in journals relating to the California Nursery Company:

• "The California Nursery: A History" by Charles J. Burr{{Cite journal|last=Burr|first=Charles J.|date=October 1970|title=The California Nursery: A History|journal=Pacific Horticulture}} 1970; Burr was a longtime employee of the nursery
• "Nursery Order for the Avenue of Palms"{{Cite journal|last=Barton|first=Janet|title="Nursery Order for the Avenue of Palms"|url=https://cglhs.org/resources/Documents/Eden-18.3-Su-2015.pdf|journal=California Garden & Landscape History Society|volume=18|issue=3 |pages=14–15}} 2015; The nursery provided palms and other plants for the Panama-Pacific International Expostion.
• "The Reluctant Railway Gardener: Johannes Reimers and the Depot Landscapes of the Santa Fe Railroad"{{Cite journal|last=Laws|first=David|date=Winter 2018|title=The Reluctant Railway Gardener; Johannes Reimers and the Depot Landscapes of the Santa Fe Railroad|url=https://www.cglhs.org/resources/Documents/EDEN.Winter.2018.vol21.no1.DIGITAL.pdf|journal=Eden; Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society|volume=21|issue=1 |pages=12–21}} Winter 2018; Johannes Reimers designed the Old Adobe Garden at the California Nursery in Niles and worked with the Roeding family on various projects.
• "Albert Etter: Humboldt County's Horticultural Genius" {{Cite journal|last=Hart|first=Tom|date=Winter 2021|title=Albert Etter: Humboldt County's Horticultural Genius|url=https://cglhs.org/resources/Documents/EDEN%20Winter%202021.Vol24.No1.DIGITAL.pdf|journal=Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society|volume=24|issue=1 |pages=4–23}}
• "The California Nursery Company Archives: Far and Wide"{{Cite journal|last=Barton|first=Janet|date=Winter 2021|title=The California Nursery Company Archives: Far and Wide|url=https://cglhs.org/resources/Documents/EDEN%20Winter%202021.Vol24.No1.DIGITAL.pdf|journal=Eden: Journal of the California Garden & Landscape History Society|volume=24|issue=1 |pages=24–33}}

After 1972, some of the former nursery grounds were turned into a Fremont city park, the California Nursery Historic Park,{{Cite web|url=https://www.fremont.gov/2896/California-Nursery-Historical-Park|title=California Nursery Historical Park {{!}} City of Fremont Official Website|website=www.fremont.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-01-15}} although the family continued to lease out some land to other nurseries. The California Nursery Garden Club {{Cite web|title=California Nursery Garden Club|url=https://sites.google.com/view/thecalifornianurserygardenclub/home?authuser=0|website=California Nursery Garden Club}} (under various names) has taken care of the gardens surrounding the nursery office since 1994, along with the City of Fremont and the Math / Science Nucleus

• Surprise (apple)

Catalogs for the California Nursery Company and Fancher Creek Nurseries can be found in these collections:

• [https://archive.org/details/usda-nurseryandseedcatalog?and%5B%5D=california%20nursery%20company&and%5B%5D=creator%3A%22california+nursery+co%22 Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection] for USDA
• [http://mertzdigital.nybg.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15121coll8 Mertz Digital Collections, New York Botanical Garden]
• The Biodiversity Heritage Library
• The [https://californiarevealed.org/collections/california-nursery-company-roeding-collection?islandora_solr_search_navigation=0&f%5B0%5D=librarydams_media_type_ms%3A%22Text%22 California Nursery Company - Roeding Collection] in California Revealed
• The [https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22California+Nursery+Co%22&page=2 Internet Archive] hosts many of these collections and has an [https://openlibrary.org/authors/OL7175823A/California_Nursery_Co?sort=old#editions Open Library] interface.

{{reflist | refs=

[http://www.fremontica.net/CNCo/ California Nursery Company], company website

Cain, Julie. [http://www.msnucleus.org/calnursery/history.html "History: California Nursery under John Rock"]. California Nursery Historical Park website.

[http://www.greenmantlenursery.com/fruit/etter-apples.htm "The Ettersburg Apple Legacies"]. Greenmantle Nursery website

}}

• [https://fremont.gov/2858/California-Nursery-Historic-Park-Master- California Nursery Historic Park Master Plan] by City of Fremont, California
• [https://msnucleus.org/calnursery/ California Nursery Company - Roeding Collection managed by the Math Science Nucleus] - the archives for Rock's Nurseries, the California Nursery Company, Fancher Creek Nursery in Fresno, and various other companies owned by George C. Roeding and George C. Roeding, Jr.
• [https://sites.google.com/view/thecalifornianurserygardenclub/home?authuser=0 California Nursery Garden Club] which takes care of the historic gardens surrounding the 1907 office building.

Category:Horticultural companies of the United States

Category:Companies based in Alameda County, California

Category:1865 establishments in California