A History of Carmel Valley’s Piazzoni Ranches

32 pages (8.5 x 11 format), 70+ photos

The Piazzoni Ranch was one of the oldest in Carmel Valley, having been homesteaded in the latter part of the 19th Century. Swiss-born Luigi Piazzoni and his half Rumsien /Esselen Indian wife Tomasa (nee Manjarres) had nine children, all born and raised on the Piazzoni Ranch. Daughters Irene, Alice, Helen, and Edith were cowgirls through and through and, with their only brother Louie, participated in the 1913 San Francisco parade that heralded in the first California rodeo. They took San Francisco by storm, parading down Market Street and then on through Oakland. You will find in these pages the compelling story of one of the most important pioneering families of Carmel Valley.