San Ramon's Oldest House Demolished After Fire

SAN RAMON, CA — San Ramon’s oldest house is no more. Last Thursday, crews demolished the Harlan House, an 1857 house that served as one of the region’s last remaining relics of the Gold Rush era. After the house was badly damaged in a fire in July, city officials determined it was unsalvageable and no longer served its historic purpose.

“On July 16, 2025, the Harlan House was damaged by fire that resulted in the destruction of the building’s roof framing and shingles, siding, structural supports, and other architectural features,” Lauren Barr, San Ramon’s director of community development, told Patch in an email. “An updated historic assessment of the house after the fire determined that the house was severely altered by the fire, no longer conveyed integrity as a pioneer-era wood frame residence, and would not qualify as a historical resource. The property owner was issued a demolition permit, and the building was demolished on October 23, 2025.”

Property owner Sohail Siddiqi told Patch that police have apprehended four juveniles aged 11, 13, and 15 in connection with the July 16 fire. Patch is awaiting confirmation and further information from the San Ramon Police Department.

Siddiqi also said that before the city issued a demolition permit, they asked that he perform an independent state assessment to determine if anything of historical significance remained. An independent historian specializing in historic preservation determined that the fire caused irreparably damaged to the home's historic integrity, past the point of restoration. It reportedly destroyed the roof, the second floor, and the chimney, and all that was left were a few walls on the ground floor. Neighbors reportedly began complaining that the home had become a dangerous eyesore.

“There were a number of issues which needed to be addressed, including safety concerns and neighbors complaining about the burnt structures," Siddiqi told Patch in a written statement. "We were extremely worried that what if anybody gets inside the fragile structure and hurts themselves. That would have been a huge liability."

The timing was particularly unfortunate. After years of bureaucracy, Siddiqi said the home was close to being approved for official historical designation, which would have allowed the house to stand.

“I think the thing that was taking longer than anything else is the requirement to save the house, which met the requirements of the California Secretary of State for historical preservation. And we were going back and forth with the city, and we were very close to, I think, finalizing all of those details,” Siddiqi said.

Patch has reached out to the San Ramon Historic Foundation for further details on the historic preservation process.

Siddiqi said that the home was not insured, because insurance companies felt it was too old to be insurable. He also says that he does not want to pursue the parents of the arson suspects for compensation, despite reported seven-figure costs for historical preservation paperwork, estimates from architects and engineers, and demolition costs.

“This is the last thing I want to pursue at this point. I have many other priorities to focus on at this point, so that’s where my energy is being spent, rather than, you know, holding those children or their parents accountable,” he said. “I don’t know what I would gain out of it, you know?”

Siddiqi said the home had long been vulnerable to trespassers and vandals. Reportedly, there used to be a barbed wire fence on the property, but neighbors complained that barbed wire was not suitable for the neighborhood, so he took it down. All that was left was a six-foot fence that kids were often able to scale.

Since he bought the property in 2017, Siddiqi had long been hoping to build an elderly assisted living and memory care facility on the property next to the home, and that application was also underway. As of now, the property’s future is in limbo.

“We were very close to saving it, and then this thing happened,” he said.

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