George Patterson

All of what today is the community of Ardenwood was once a vast, 6,000 acre ranch developed in the nineteenth century by George Washington Patterson. Drawing from the mythical "Forest of Arden" depicted in Shakespeare's As You Like It, he named his ranch Ardenwood.

Patterson House

The Patterson House, first built in 1857, was substantially expanded and remodeled in 1889 and again in 1915. In 1974 the house and 46 acres⁽¹⁾ surrounding it was given to the City of Fremont by the Patterson family. Under the management of the East Bay Regional Park District, the house and farm opened first to the public in 1985. Read more about Ardenwood Historic Farm on East Bay Regional Parks Website.

The 1974 gift to the City cleared the way for residential development, which was approved by the City in 1981. Various subdivisions were built by different developers in the 1980's, 1990's and continues to this day. In 2004, discussions began concerning development of the final parcels of the original ranch. In the aerial photograph below, the colored region represents this remaining parcel of the Patterson Ranch. Read more about proposed future development.

Ardenwood Aerial Photo

Gazebo at the Patterson House

"They say he is already in the forest of Arden and a many merry men with him; and there they live like the old Robin Hood of England: they say many young gentlemen flock to him every day, and fleet the time carelessly, as they did in the golden world."

—William Shakespeare,
from "As You Like It."

William Shakespeare

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