'Heartbreaking Moment For Our Community:' San Ramon's Historic Harlan House Burns, Arson Teams Investigate

SAN RAMON, CA — San Ramon’s historic Harlan House, an 1857 house and museum that serves as one of the region’s last remaining relics of the Gold Rush, was severely damaged in a fire Wednesday morning, according to the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District. SRVFPD said that its Arson Investigation Team is coordinating with the San Ramon Police Department to investigate the cause of the fire.

“Firefighters arrived to find a well involved [structure fire] in the area of San Ramon Valley Blvd and West Side Dr. in San Ramon,” SRVFPD said in a post. “Firefighters worked to quickly contain the blaze minimizing the spread to surrounding vegetation and preventing the spread to neighboring structures…This home, known as the “Harlan House” was one of the oldest homes in San Ramon, circa 1852. We are deeply saddened by destruction that took place today.”

The fire broke out at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to several news reports. Photos show that the fire destroyed the entire roof, but the base remains intact.

“It's a very sad day for us. It's a sad day, I would say, for the entire city of San Ramon because this was the oldest standing structure. It had a lot of historic significance,” property owner Sohail Siddiqi told CBS News. Siddiqi said that he had been in talks with the city, the San Ramon Valley Historic Foundation, and the state to add the building to the California Historic Register, and to also build an assisted living and memory care facility nearby. The future of the unoccupied home was a longstanding subject of debate, and Saddiqi said the process had been bogged down by red tape.

Siddiqi also told CBS that the property had consistent challenges with trespassers, and a barbed wire fence surrounded the area for a while. Since that was taken down seven years ago, trespassing has increased.

“Since we removed that barbed wire about seven years ago, we have not been able to control trespassing,” he said. “We have a lock here, a lock on the other side, and consistently people come and cut the chain that has a lock on it, and we have to redo it. We just put in a new lock about two weeks ago. Kids have always been jumping the fence and going in, and there's so much graffiti inside. Unfortunately, we were not able to control this thing.”

The house, also known as El Nido, was built in 1857-8 by Gold Rush pioneers Joel and Minerva Harlan, according to the Museum of the San Ramon Valley. It was built using money from the Gold Rush, and became a landmark tied to the early settlement of the San Ramon Valley. The Harlan family had nine children and bought land from Jose Maria Amador, becoming one of the Tri-Valley’s foundational families.

“The loss of the Harlan House is a heartbreaking moment for our community and for all who value our shared history. Built in 1852 by Joel and Minerva Harlan—early pioneers who arrived in California just ahead of the Donner Party—the house stood as one of the oldest wooden structures in the state," San Ramon Mayor Mark Armstrong said in a statement. “Originally located on the border between Alameda and Contra Costa counties, the Harlan House was moved in 1856 to its final site to avoid the burden of paying property taxes to both counties. It was more than a home—it was a living reminder of our roots, our resilience, and the extraordinary journey of those who helped shape this region. Its absence leaves a void not just in our landscape, but in our collective memory.”