Mountain House, California

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Mountain House is a planned community located in unincorporated San Joaquin County, California, USA, approximately 5 miles northwest of the City of Tracy. The community has an approximate population of 3,000 people, with just over 628 registered voters (as of early 2006). It's the largest such development in San Joaquin County in many years, projected to provide 15,600 homes for 44,000 residents by 2015. The community promises 12 villages, each anchored by an elementary school within walking distance for the homes they service. Two of the villages are planned to be "for seniors only" surrounding a community golf course. The project will also include a multiple-use "town center" for local shopping. Near I-205, the Mountain House Business Park is proposed.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Notable dates 1.2 Ancient history 2 Education 3 Government 3.1 Infrastructure 4 Location 5 External links

[edit] History

Mountain House was established officially by the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors (SJCBoS) on November 10, 1994. The goal was to create a carefully planned new town for San Joaquin County residents that was close to Interstate 205. Its master developer, Trimark Communities. LLC, worked closely with the county to create a plan that would, at its completion in 2015, provide for a fully functional and integrated city.

[edit] Notable dates

1994

• November 10 - Mountain House project approved by SJCBoS

2001

• May 14 - Trimark breaks ground on Mountain House project

2003

• January 18 - First home foundation poured
• July 4 - First resident moves in to Wicklund Village

2004

• August 24 - Wicklund Elementary open for business

2005

• November 22 - Specific Plan III & Delta College approved by SJCBoS
• December 16 - Fire Station #1 Opens

[edit] Ancient history

The Mountain House area was originally inhabited by the American Indian Cholbon tribelet of the Northern Valley Yokuts. The tribelet's territory extended westward along Old River to just west of Bethany. In the late 18th century the Spanish explorers led by Juan Bautista de Anza, traveled from the San Francisco Bay to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Spanish never settled in this region and the land was mostly used for agriculture and stopping off points for transportation and trade. The name Mountain House originates from the Gold Rush era. When miners traveled from San Francisco to the Sierra foothills, they often rested about midway at a house called "Mountain House" at the bottom of a range of hills. The first Mt. House structure took the form of a blue tent and was built in 1849 by Thomas Goodall. With the help of American Indians, Goodall built an adobe house on the site where Mountain House became a rest stop for miners, stockmen, rancheros, and immigrants. Simon Zimmerman purchased the stop and through his hard work Mountain House became a famous way station on the road to Stockton.

In the mid-1850s Mohr's Landing developed around Old River to support commerce and trade. Unfortunately, in the early 1860s flooding of the Old River destroyed Mohr’s Landing and a regional farmer, Eric Wicklund, built a new town near the Mountain House site. The town of Wicklund became the transportation and trade center for the area. During the 1870s the arrival of the Central Pacific Railroad allowed faster transportation of goods and Wicklund’s commerce faded.

In 1878 the first train ran through Bethany Railroad Station and Bethany became a new center for trade. To accommodate growth, the Byron-Bethany Irrigation District was formed in 1916 to transport water, which eased dependency on dry farming. Through the 1920s Bethany grew to include a church, blacksmith shop, general store, bar, dancehall, and post office. During this time the Mountain House School was built in the foothills of the region.

In 1940 the last remaining structure of Bethany, the Bethany Post Office was torn down. Since then, the land in the Mountain house area has primarily been used for agriculture.

[edit] Education

Elementary: Wicklund School is the first of 12 planned elementary schools. It's a K-8 (kindergarten through 8th grade) facility along with an accompanying park. The school is part the Lammersville Elementary School District.

High school Currently high school-age students living in Mountain House attend Merrill F. West High School in the neighboring city of Tracy. The new local high school should be built sometime around 2012, or when there are enough high school age students to support the planned facility.

Higher education: San Joaquin Delta College has a satellite facility planned. It should be open for enrollment in 2007.

[edit] Government

Right now (12/05) the town is governed by the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors(SJCBoS). The SJCBoS oversees the Mountain House Community Service District (MHCSD) that provides most of the government services the town uses. When the town reaches 1000 registered voters, the citizens may opt to elect their own governing board to oversee the MHCSD. The 1000 voter goal will probably be reached by the '06 November elections.

[edit] Infrastructure

• The Town will be one of the first in California to offer "fiber to the home". Additionally all the homes are pre-wired for home networking as a standard feature.
• The town has its own dedicated water treatment plant and waste water facility.

[edit] Location

It is reached by the Mountain House Parkway (formerly Patterson Pass Road) exit off of Interstate 205.

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 37.78333° -121.54167°
  • Street map from Google Maps or MapQuest
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, Microsoft Virtual Earth, or WikiMapia
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA

[edit] External links

• Community Run Website
• Mountain House Community Service District
• Master Developers Site
• Mountain House on the Tracy Press website