California Nursery Company
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The California Nursery Co., founded in 1865 by John Rock (born Johann Fels in Lauterbach, Oberhessen, Germany on August 19, 1836). The nursery, originally located at Wayne Station in San Jose, California, relocated to Niles, California (Fremont) in 1884 where a square mile of land was available.
After the death of John Rock in 1904, the nursery was operated by William J. Landers. In 1917 the nursery was purchased by George C. Roeding of Fresno, California and has been in the family ever since.
At first, the nursery was a wholesaler providing grape vines and fruit trees to California's growing agricultural industry. Later, in addition to its wholesale business, the nursery started a retail operation with ornamental trees and plants for homes and gardens. The California Nursery Co. ultimately became the largest firm of its kind west of the Rockies. The nursery was well known in the San Francisco Bay Area and became a destination for garden lovers and horticulturists. From the early 1930s to the mid 1960s, the nursery hosted annual bulb shows from mid March to mid April, drawing as many as 5000 visitors on a single weekend.
After 1972, the former nursery grounds became a city park featuring the Vallejo Adobe, with the retail/wholesale yards being leased out over the years to various nurseries. The Roeding Family continues to operate the California Nursery Co. as a mail order business, but no longer has retail sales yards.
