Don's Home Places California Davis Harvest Glen Chiles Ranch History
last updated 10 May 2025

1850 Purchased a by Colonel Joseph Chiles
1902 Mansion built
1972 Murder - Suicide - Mansion burned
2007 12 acres Sold for $4.2 Million
2025 12 acres sold for $17.7 Million
2025 Development of Harvest Glen started

In 2025 development started under the name of Harvest Glen

Chiles Ranch in Davis, California, was named after the Chiles family. It was originally a 4,327-acre property which was part of the Rancho Laguna de Santos Calle Mexican Land Grant. In 1850 it was purchased by Colonel Joseph Chiles. Over time, portions of the ranch were sold off, including the Chiles family's original home, which was later part of Mace Ranch.

The Chiles Mansion was built in 1902 by William Dee and Clara (Calloway) Chiles, son and daughter-in-law of Isaac Skinner and Bridget (Dee) Chiles. William was born April 11, 1868 in Davis. The 15-room house was joined by a large barn and other outbuildings on the cemetery-adjacent land. At the time, a long driveway led all the way into the property from Pole Line Road.

It remained in the Chiles family until the 1960s.

Dark Past:
The house and about five acres of surrounding land were purchased by Larry Z. McFarland, an anatomy professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis. He lived in the home with his wife, Sonia, and three children, Michael, Kenneth and Nina.

By April 7, 1972, Larry and Sonia McFarland had separated, and Larry McFarland had moved into an apartment at 1521 E. Eighth St., just a few blocks from the house.
That night McFarland tragically murdered his family and set the mansion on fire.
Investigators found a two-page, eight-paragraph, handwritten note titled "last will and testament" in Larry McFarland's pickup truck, which was parked nearby. "I am taking the life of myself and my family in the belief that a family should remain together in life or in death,"

After a lengthy court process, Mary Bado Simmons, the mother of Sonia McFarland and grandmother of Michael, Kenneth and Nina, won the ability to not bury their remains with "the murderer." She also won full legal rights to the property.
Simmons kept the entire property in an undeveloped state as a memorial to her grandchildren, son-in-law and daughter,

The property became known as Sunrise Farm by the 1990's Mary died in 2006 at the age of 98.

The 12 acres on which the Chiles Mansion sat was then sold by Mary Bado Simmons' heirs to local developers Steve Sherman and Dan Fouts in April 2007 for $4.2 million.
The Simmons Estate Concept Plan was approved on Sept. 17-20, 2007
A sign listing it as future Chiles Ranch development was erected.

News Articles Sacramento News and Review, February 2008 | Sacramento Business Journal, May 2007.Davis Wiki
"This place is haunted, and not just because it is next to the cemetary! We boarded a horse there for many years, and many of the boarders had strange experiences and believed the place to be haunted. When we were there, the little girl's horse was still alive, and perhaps she was near. We experienced sightings of a figure in white, (the type of thing that you see from the corner of your eye, then when you look closely, it is gone), the sound of the heavy metal fence squeaking open when it was secured shut, as well as the generally creepy feeling of the place. One day,in broad daylight, a horse seemed to have moved from one stall to the next, simply appearing in the new stall with no human intervention. When I heard that a subdivision would be built and people would live there, those horror movies came to mind. I wouldn't live there if it were free!æ≤∫®≥ —ghostrider
The Big Barn was deconstructed in November 2011.

Chiles Ranch has sold to a new owner - Century Communities Inc., March 2025 | DaivsEnterprise

According to Doug Bayless of Bayless Properties Inc., the land was purchased for $17.7 million.

The Chiles Ranch housing project was first approved by the Davis City Council in 2009. The project includes 96 single-family homes on a 12.1 acre site at E. Eighth St. 84 of the units are market rate, while 12 are affordable housing.
Century has reduced the number of house plans from 23 to eight to make the project more manageable.

Back in May 2024, the City Council approved a third amendment to the Chiles Ranch development agreement. The council agreed to the five-year extension as long as it included a milestone for commencement of construction, a milestone for recordation of final maps, a definition of construction commencement and an annual update report to both the Planning Commission and City Council.

Harvest Glen was originally approved as Chiles Ranch 2009 and primarily consisted of single-family homes on lots ranging from 2,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet.
In 2017, the applicant requested approval of an amendment to the Harvest Glen Subdivision approvals. The residential subdivision map was revised from a 108 unit subdivision to a 96 unit subdivision. The requirement for 20 affordable housing units will be met by the construction of twelve 3-bedroom units and the payment of in lieu fees for 8 units.

Links:
Sources:: Chiles Ranch History | google
Davis Wiki