Winchester Mystery House Centennial Speaker Series: Robin Chapman

Robin Chapman arrived with great enthusiasm for the Valley of Heart’s Delight for May’s Centennial Speaker Series. I had gotten the pleasure to chat with her briefly after the Japonisme topic in February, so I was looking forward to hearing her topic.

Centennial Speaker Series Topic: The Valley of Heart’s Delight with Robin Chapman

Robin took guests on a delightful global journey of the apricots and how they made their way from China into California’s agriculture and as a staple produce of the Santa Clara valley. First sold in San Francisco during the California gold rush, apricots gained popularity. Once the railways were completed in 1869, it made it possible to ship seedlings and plants all throughout the state. Santa Clara valley earned the name “Valley of Heart’s Delight” due to its successful orchards and produce production.

Although San Jose was a slowly growing metropolis, it was surrounded by agriculture. There were over 200,000 acres of fruit orchards between 25,000 family-run farms. The art of sun-drying fruits was rediscovered and flourished as a business. Several wished to invest in and see the Valley of Heart’s delight flourish and it did, including a booming canning business and flourishing universities like San Jose State, Berkley, Stanford and Santa Clara University. The valley experienced and still experiences an interesting cycle of land getting reinvested into.

How Sarah was Influenced by the Valley of Heart’s Delight

During the 1870s, Sarah was visiting the San Francisco office and became acquainted with the Valley of Heart’s Delight, eventually moving to San Jose in 1886. Her property initially included 45 acres of orchards including apricots and prunes, but grew to over 160 acres over time. As a quickly growing area, it is suspected that Sarah shared her time with other visionaries of the area. These interesting individuals possibly included Lope Inigo, Juana Briones, Thomas Foon Chew and Charlie Chaplin.

My Takeaway from the Centennial Speaker Series with Robin Chapman

Robin’s presentation voice is delightful and made me eager to flip through all of her books. Naturally, I purchased what I could after she finished her presentation. She is clearly passionate about her topics, especially for the Santa Clara valley. I was so impressed by all she had researched. Even more so, I was in awe of the knowledge she openly shared on her blog archives. As Robin concluded her talk, she shared her suspicions of even more to discover about Sarah in the San Jose archives. Personally, I look forward to hearing her discoveries in the future.

Craving More from Robin Chapman?

A journalist and historian, you can keep up with Robin on her website or through FaceBook. Aside from her book, “The Valley of Heart’s Delight“, Robin has authored two other books. “Historic Bay Area Visionaries” and “California Apricots” both had sections teased in her presentation. If you find yourself in the Winchester giftshop, you can purchase her books there too!

What else can be discovered beyond the Centennial Speaker Series at Winchester Mystery House?

Below you will find other posts I’ve written regarding the Winchester Mystery House’s assorted experiences and educational programs. At Llanda Villa, there is always something new to learn! More often than not, I like to think myself one of the first in line to attend.