On Thursday November 12, eight Saddlebrooke hikers, led by Bob Simpson, were privileged to visit historic sites on the northeast area of SaddleBrooke land near the Preserve. Bob, a historian, has written a few books on the area. He told us about Lloyd Golder III, who owned the land on which SaddleBrooke is built.
Golder owned many large ranches in this area as well as some both north and south of here. The property on which SaddleBrooke sits is only part of a ranch which stretched from Catalina State Park on the south, Oracle Road on the west, Oracle Junction and Route 77 on the north, and across the Canada del Oro on the east. Golder had a grandiose plan to develop the area with homes, apartments, shopping areas, a sailing lake and even an airport. He built a dam and created a large lake which covered most of the Preserve area where homes and a golf course now stand. The dam, which was earthen, developed a leak so they could never fill the lake. Eventually, the dam had to be destroyed for fear of failure, causing a catastrophic flood downstream in the Canada del Oro. By then, such an event would have destroyed many homes to the south.
After visiting the Golder Dam the group hiked down the Canada del Oro to the site of the much older Charouleau Dam built by Pierre Charouleau (see photo nearby). Bob told many other interesting stories of Golder’s life. The hike, too, was an enjoyable day out.
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