Mark West Compass

Larkfield/Wikiup Town Hall Meeting
Supervisor James Gore is planning a town hall meeting.  Watch for news about this.  A date is not yet set but the word will go out as soon as it is
District-Wide Science Fair
This year’s fair is scheduled for Saturday, April 22 at Mark West Elementary School multipurpose room from 10 a.m. to 2p.m.
There will be hands-on activities including constellation viewing in Star Lab, a mini Mars rover, circuit building, mini boat building, catapult launching, a solar telescope, live birds, the fire department “smoke house” and more.  Please come with your family to this FREE event sponsored by all of the Mark West District PTAs. 
Caution
I recently read about this on larkfield.nextdoor.com. An uninvited and unknown man walked into a garage entrance to a house on Corbett Circle. All was ok, as two ladies were in the house and told him to leave. He asked about work but who knows if that’s why he really walked into someone’s house, uninvited. It’s so easy to leave those doors open when we are going in and out for whatever reason. This is a good reason to keep those doors shut and locked. 
Demolished Home on Old Redwood Highway and Ursuline Road
Oh, wasn’t that fun to see that magnificent home uncovered on the corner of Old Red and Ursuline Road?  And wasn’t it so upsetting to see it demolished so soon afterwards?
Now, just think about it. It was covered, really covered, with natural growth. What do you suppose was living in that natural cave over a man-made home? And what do you suppose was growing within? From what I hear, just about everything you’ve just imagined, including mold and asbestos. There was really no choice but to demolish it.
Here’s a little of the story of the home. A man named Bob Hoffer was the owner. He said he grew up there. As told to the principal of Cardinal Newman High School, part of the property was built in the 20’s with additions over time. The little chicken-like houses were built in pre-hotel times. They were called “stay over houses.”
At this time Ursuline Road was the end of Mark West Springs Road. The Orchard Inn (now Willie’s Wine Bar) was a coach stop. So it was the obvious thing for the family across the street to build some stay over houses.
Eventually Mark West Springs Road went straight to Old Redwood Highway, as it is now, and the coaches went by the wayside. Hoffer sold 34 acres to the Catholic Diocese.
Cardinal Newman High School was built in 1964 on what was the Hoffer Farm. The remaining 1.75 acres was the family parcel. When Bob Hoffer passed, his two daughters kept the family parcel until they recently sold it to the Diocese. The Catholic Church had been trying to buy this property for a long time but the heirs were not ready to sell until recently. They would have liked to have the building for offices or some use like that
By the time they bought it they could not use the building for anything. Their short-term plan is to just use the lot for extra parking when needed. Their master plan is to, hopefully, bring the two pieces of property back together as one. Two things they are in need of are a gym and a performing arts building. These are two of the possibilities being discussed.
I’ve also heard that the home once belonged to Leonard Howarth, a successful industrialist who had donated $75,000 to Santa Rosa for parks. One story goes that he left the home to his caretaker. I don’t know if that was a relative of Bob Hoffer or not.
This is an interesting story.  I have not verified any of it.  It would be nice to connect some of the gaps.  If I ever do, I’ll report on it.
Did you know?
According to neighborhoodscout.com, Larkfield median real estate price is $618,031, which is more expensive than 63.3% of the neighborhoods in California and 91.0% of the neighborhoods in the U.S.
Aggie Maggio is a local Realtor and member of the Mark West Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at [email protected].