Long time growing
Family’s river delta farm marks 175 years
Story by Kevin Hecteman ∞ Photos by Fred Greaves
1848 was quite the year in California history. James Marshall found gold near a sawmill in Coloma, setting off the Gold Rush. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican- American War, transferred Alta California from Mexico to the U.S. And along the Sacramento River, south of the town that became the state capital six years later, the Peck and Bates families settled down to farm the rich, fertile soil. “They came out here for the Gold Rush,” says Mike Neuharth, the sixth generation to farm at Steamboat Acres, “and were like, ‘Well, guess what? There’s no gold out here, but we’re farmers where we’ve been from historically. Let’s just keep that going.’” The delta was a very different place 175 years ago. “When they first got here, there was nothing here,” Neuharth says. As to what the Pecks and their neighbors raised in the soil, “everyone was growing asparagus and sugar beets, and did that for a long, long time.” Along the way, one of the generations made a decision that’s still bearing fruit—literally and figuratively—for Neuharth today.
Mike Neuharth, left, holds a crate bearing the name of his step-great-grandfather, who once had more than 400 acres of pear trees on the land that Mike and his father now farm. Above left, Mike and Tara Neuharth walk through Steamboat Acres with their children Raylan, River and Reed.
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