105856 SCC Book FINAL - Silverado Country Club

PROFESSIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENTS
Golf Club, as the Silverado Land Company to complete the purchase.
The Napa Register of May 1, 1953, reported that the Maxwell Ranch had been sold to
Pat Markovich, Richmond Golf Pro, for $350,000. The original Silverado Country Club
thus came into being.
In seeking a name for his country club property, Markovich was influenced by the
frequent reference to the name “Silverado.” The property was near the Silverado Trail,
which traced the eastern floor of the beautiful Napa Valley. The Trail led to the silver
mines on Mount St. Helena at the north end of the valley. It was there that Robert
Louis Stevenson spent his honeymoon in 1880, in one of the abandoned mine
buildings of the “Silverado Mine” in the small settlement called Silverado City. While
there, Stevenson made his notes for his novel, “The Silverado Squatters”, which was
published in 1884. In this book, he recounts his experiences living in the mining camp
and tells of acquaintances with the Napa Valley residents he met while living there.
Since the name was well known and popular in the valley, Markovich wisely decided
to call his country club “Silverado.”
THE MARKOVICH ERA
n October 1953, the first heavy equipment moved onto the grounds to start
construction on the 18 hole course on approximately 160 acres under the
supervision of Ben Harmon, who designed the course layout to meet Markovich’s
objective: a course to satisfy the average golfer but long enough to test the abilities of
the better golfer. In May 1955, the Silverado Golf Course opened for play with Gene
Littler, Johnny Dawson, Joe Spinola, and Tony Celak in the first foursome to play on
the course.
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The original concept was to remodel the mansion and build a clubhouse along with five
groups of five duplexes, each to be available for rental to visitors and their families.
Each group of five duplexes would surround a central swimming pool, thus giving
“visiting club and business groups the opportunity to have their own private village.” In
addition, there were to be nine residential tracts, the first containing 36 lots of one-half
to two-thirds an acre bordering the golf course.
Johnny Dawson, who had also been an amateur golf champion, had three successful
golf course ventures to his credit, including the Thunderbird Club at Palm Springs and
Los Serroanos and Mission Valley in San Diego. Johnny heard about Silverado while
playing in the 1955 state amateur tournament at Pebble Beach. Afterwards he flew to
Oakland where Markovich met him and took him on a tour of Silverado. He was so
impressed with the potential for development that he asked to become an investor,
contributing $50,000. His interest was in the real estate development and the prospect
of opening up membership in Silverado to the 180 members of the Thunderbird who
lived in Northern California. He envisioned their playing at Palm Springs in the winter
and Napa in the summer.
He agreed to come up for two years to assist in the development. He and his wife,
Velma, a former actress and an interior decorator, had much influence in changing
Markovich’s original concept for the club and lodging facilities. Dawson’s concept
expanded the facilities to include tennis courts, a larger golf house, and different layout
of the lodging accommodations. Mrs. Dawson undertook a remodeling of the mansion
to recreate its atmosphere of elegance and comfort for the guests.
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n 1967, Westgate had hired Harvie Ward, a two-time National Amateur golf
champion, to be in charge of public relations at Silverado. With his contacts in the
golfing world, Ward convinced the PGA that a tournament held at Silverado would
be a natural to follow or precede the Crosby Pro-Am. Contacting Westgate at his
development in Maui, Hawaii, Ward told him the PGA was willing to play a tournament
at Silverado if Westgate could arrange for prize money.
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Westgate contacted Jack Ashby, then Chairman of Kaiser Steel, and proposed that the
various Kaiser firms sponsor the tournament. Ashby agreed and lined up Kaiser Steel,
Kaiser Industries, Kaiser Cement, and Kaiser Aluminum to provide $50,000 for the first
tournament.
Thus the Silverado Country Club hosted the Kaiser International Golf Tournament from
1968 to 1976. Two tournaments were played in 1969 as the rainy winter weather
forced the PGA and Kaiser to change the tournament date to the fall. Anheuser-Busch
sponsored the Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic from 1977 to 1980, before moving the
tournament to Williamsburg, VA.
In 1989, Silverado management contracted with the International Management Group
of Cleveland, Ohio and the Transamerica Insurance Company of San Francisco to
host the Senior PGA tournament for three years. The first tournament was held in
October 1989, the same week the Loma Prieta earthquake caused major damage in
the San Francisco and East Bay areas. While that catastrophe seriously affected
spectator attendance, the 1990 tournament enjoyed a large turnout of golf fans from
the Bay Area. The Transamerica has continued through 2001.
THE AMFAC ERA ENDS
mfac continued to upgrade and improve the resort facilities. In November
1979, the Napa Register reported completion of a major $3 million expansion
project at Silverado. This included construction of a two-story executive
conference center offering 9,000 square feet of meeting area. The top story provided
a large kitchen to support the main ballroom meeting room, which can be broken into
four large conference rooms. Nine smaller meeting rooms downstairs gave the Resort
the capability to host large convention groups or a number of smaller groups at the
same time.
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In addition, the former trophy room was converted into a new restaurant (The Royal
Oak), the Fairway Deck overlooking the 18th green of the South Course was
refurbished, a ground-level brick patio area placed at the front of the convention
center, a 14-court tennis complex was built west of Atlas Peak Road for Resort guests
and the six member courts near the Clubhouse were renovated.
In the early 1980’s, Amfac began to divest itself of many of its Hawaiian and mainland
properties. Amfac continued to own, improve and operate the Silverado Country Club
& Resort until 1984. Robert E. Meyer, a prominent commercial developer from
Southern California, purchased the Resort and all of the undeveloped property owned
by Amfac for a reported $19.2 million. The undeveloped properties included what are
now the Springs, Crest, Grove, and Highlands, plus the six lots on the South Course.
In accordance with the Country Club Bylaws then in effect, the Country Club members
were given the right of first refusal to buy one or both of the golf courses. However,
the restrictions and exclusions included as part of the offer were such that the
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membership voted not to exercise that option. The definition
of the courses had not been spelled out in the Bylaws. The
offer restricted the purchase opportunity to the land within the
out-of-bounds stakes of the courses, without access to the
accessory facilities required to operate and maintain the
courses. Further, as part of the offer, Amfac was to continue
to manage and operate the courses as an integral part of the
Resort, with the owners essentially limited to providing funds
upon demand by Amfac to improve, repair, and replace parts
of the courses.
The Amfac ownership ended on the sale of the properties
to Meyer on January 12, 1984, but its management role
continued. As part of the sales agreement to Meyer, Amfac was retained to
manage and operate the Country Club Resort for 25 years, with two ten-year
options.
Robert E. Meyer
Meyer had been, since 1964, a builder, general contractor and property manager
with activities including the acquisition of large land parcels for subdivision into
office, commercial, and industrial developments. During his ownership, Mr. Meyer
made investments in the Country Club, which improved the golf courses with
extensive work to the drainage and irrigation systems.
Mr. Meyer and Mr. Bill Linthicum, the owner’s representative at Silverado,
continued the residential development program approved by the Napa County
Board of Supervisors. This included the infrastructure of streets, curbs, utilities,
and drainage for the Silverado Crest parcel before it was sold in March of 1989,
for $2,775,000 and subsequently subdivided into 31 lots.
The Silverado Springs parcel of 97 lots and the Grove parcel of 31 lots were sold
in 1988 and 1989 respectively to O’Brien and Hicks for residential development.
O’Brien and Hicks reportedly paid $6,9100,000 for the Springs parcel and
$2,600,000 for the Grove property.
In 1988, the Amfac Corporation sold all of its stock, including the management
contract for Silverado, to JMB Realty, a Chicago based real estate and investment
firm with nationwide holdings. The Amfac Hotels and Resorts Corporation, which
managed Silverado, was retained as a subsidiary, with the shortened name of
Amfac Resorts. JMB’s contract to manage and operate the Resort runs through
2009, with two ten-year options to continue.
NEW OWNERS
n the summer of 1989, Mr. Isao Okawa, a prominent
businessman and the President and Chairman of the
Board of the CSK Group, a multi-national software and
telecommunications firm, purchased Meyer Properties, Inc.,
the ownership entity of Silverado Country Club and Resort.
The sale was completed on December 18, 1989. Mr. Okawa
subsequently made his son, Setsuo, President and CEO of
the Silverado holdings.
After the sale of the Resort and C-4 (Highlands) land parcel
in December, 1989, Mr. Meyer acted on behalf of the new
owners in continuing the subdivision and master planning of
the C-4 parcel. In 1991, he successfully secured the
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Isao Okawa
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The Senator lived in “Lavergne” until his death in March 1886, at the age of 55. He
died at his second home in Washington, D.C. while serving in the U.S. Senate. Five
senators, seven congressmen, and the Sergeants-at-Arms of both houses
accompanied his body to California. He was buried in the family vault in Laurel Hill
Cemetery in San Francisco.
The eulogies included these comments: “While the people of Napa have been proud
to call him “fellow townsman,” they long since realized that his was a larger field - that
as the State’s servant and the nation’s son. He belonged to the whole people and was
that people’s gallant defender and faithful representative. General Miller’s life has
closed when he was a comparatively young man, but he has lived long enough and
has accomplished enough in private and public life, in peace and war, to connect his
name honorably with the history of his country for all time.”
CLOVER-MAXWELL ERA
avergne” was left to his wife and daughter, Mary Eudora. Mary Eudora
married a close friend of the general, Admiral Richardson Clover, who had
been active in Washington society circles. The Clovers lived at “Lavergne”
until 1932. The property had been in the Miller family for 63 years when the
granddaughter, Eudora Clover, sold the property to Mrs. Vesta Peak Maxwell, an
aristocratic Chicago matron.
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Mrs. Maxwell made various changes to the interior and exterior of the house. She
replaced the mansard roof, removed the portico at the entrance and replaced it with
the present broad porch which has a roof supported by four grooved columns typical
of southern colonial design. Among interior improvements was a suite of rooms done
in modern taste for her personal convenience.
Mrs. Maxwell brought suit against the city of Napa and won a judgment compelling the
city to release a specified flow of water from the municipally owned Lake Milliken to
flow down Milliken Creek during the May to November period to insure water for the
pasture irrigation every year.
“LAVERGNE” BECOMES SILVERADO
rs. Maxwell sold the property to Richmond Golf Professional Pat Markovich
and Al Furrer, and associated investors in April 1953 - one hundred years after
the young Miller had first arrived in the Napa Valley to practice law. Markovich
let Mrs. Maxwell retain one acre at the south end of the property where she later built
a modern home as her permanent residence. That property is located west of Milliken
Creek and east of Atlas Peak Road just before the creek passes under the road.
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Fred Blanchard, one time pro at Napa Valley Golf and Country Club and later an
employee at the Watsonville Golf Club owned by Markovich, “discovered” the 1,080
acre Maxwell Ranch and interested Markovich in looking it over. Markovich sent
another employee, Ben Harmon, to look over the land, who came back enthused over
the potential he saw for a golf course.
On April 3, 1953, Pat and Al Furrer stood on the back terrace of the Maxwell mansion
and looked over the vast acres of magnificent terrain that now encompasses the South
Course at Silverado. Within hours, Pat and Al paid a $75,000 deposit to buy the 1,080
acre ranch, which at the time housed 14,000 turkeys and a string of horses in the
pastureland. They then organized a group of investors, mostly from the Richmond
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THE “LAVERGNE” ESTATE
hile in San Francisco, General Miller began purchasing the property that is
now the Silverado Country Club. He selected the property as a permanent
home site for the benefit of his wife’s health. Miller had looked about for a
locale that offered beauty and good climate. When the general first saw the property
with its rolling hills, wide meadowlands and groves of oak, birch, and pine, with
sparkling, chattering Milliken Creek winding across the valley floor, he knew this was
the ideal place. His close friend, Vice President Andrew Johnson, who succeeded to
the Presidency when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, assisted Miller in the original
purchase transaction.
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General & Mrs. Miller purchased the property in several parcels from different grantors,
including the United States via a deed signed by President U.S. Grant and the State
of California by a deed signed by Governor Newton Booth. Deeds conveying the
various parcels to the general were dated in the years 1869, 1873, and 1881.
The property had once been part of the Mexican land grant called Rancho Yajome,
which had been given by the Mexican General Mariano G. Vallejo to his daughter as
a wedding present when she became the bride of General John H. Frisbie. General
Miller called the property “Lavergne” in memory of the historic conflict where he was
wounded.
The general built his mansion on the site of an old adobe that sat on the bank of
Milliken Creek. Because he believed in the ancient superstition that ill fortune would
come to whoever caused the adobe to be destroyed, Miller is said to have ordered the
residence to be built around the adobe. The remains of the adobe are said to be
contained in the southwest corner of the present mansion. The house was completed
in 1870. Mrs. Miller designed it in the French Italianate style with a mansard roof.
There were 14 rooms, each with its own marble fireplace, and included four bedrooms,
and each with a marble bath, marble-topped dresser, and oversized colonial style bed
with a tassel-fringed canopy. The mansion’s great living room was 84 feet long and 20
feet wide with lofty ceilings that were the mark of the times.
entitlement approvals from the county of Napa on the last developable land at
Silverado.
FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS
uring his first visit to Silverado after acquiring the property, Mr. Isao Okawa
spoke of his commitment to maintain the outstanding tradition of Silverado
and to make Silverado the best country club in the United States. He spoke
of making Silverado “a place where international leaders can meet and work
together to promote greater friendship, understanding and world peace”.
During this visit, Mr. Okawa pledged to build a full service clubhouse for the Country
Club members. A 7,000 sq. ft. Members Clubhouse was completed and formally
dedicated on May 4th, 1992.
In 1998, Setsuo Okawa approved the construction of a state of the art 17,000
square foot spa. The Spa, including a 25 meter swimming pool, was completed in
1999 and is located directly across Atlas Peak Road from the Mansion
The ongoing commitment to the property can be seen in various improvements that
have been accomplished over the years of the Okawas’ ownership. Continual
upgrading of the golf courses, renovation and remodeling of the Mansion and
associated facilities, a new front entry, and additional parking are just a few
examples of this commitment.
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Mrs. Miller, who personally supervised the plantings, laid out the grounds of the house.
The stable and carriage house were on the north, hidden behind cypress hedges.
Beyond the stable was a “farm” with a caretaker’s house, barns, a pigeon house, and
quarters for the farm hands and six gardeners. There was a grove of oaks to the
south. The front lawn of four acres was superbly maintained with all manner of rare
topical plants and trees and flowers in abundance all year round. Add to this fountains,
drives, fish ponds, a vineyard of 40 acres, a herd of thoroughbred stock and “more
horses than he can use,” and you have some idea of the Miller’s summer villa called
“Lavergne.”
An orator of note, General Miller was named Presidential Elector at Large in 1872,
1876, and 1880. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1879 and was
elected to the U.S. Senate in 1880, serving with the illustrious Leland Stanford.
THE LAST SUBDIVISION
Senator Miller was said to have been a man of “marked presence, tall and straight,
with the figure of an athlete. His hair was black with gray, a little thin at the top, and
his moustache, which was rapidly turning gray, droops at the ends. His manners were
characterized by a simple dignity and frankness. He was not effusive in his
professions or promises, but was a statesman of the George Washington School.”
r. Isao Okawa began development of the Highlands parcel in 1991.
Construction of the infrastructure of streets, curbs and streetlights,
underground facilities and drainage was completed in 1992. Due to the
general downturn in the economy, further development was delayed until 1997.
At that time Setsuo Okawa opened the Highlands at Silverado, a prestigious
residential community consisting of 58 Tuscan-style Villas and 53 executive Estate
homes. Sales response was immediate and overwhelmingly positive. Occupancy
of the Highlands began in the spring of 1998.
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Upon completion of the Highlands, there will be 1093 dwellings within the Silverado
Development Area. What began in the middle 1950’s as a local golf and tennis club
has evolved into a world-class resort.
SILVERADO
PAST & PRESENT
THE LOOK AHEAD
ith the passing of Isao Okawa in 2001, the
ownership and responsibility of Silverado has
been turned over to his son, Setsuo Okawa. In
recent years, Setsuo Okawa has been actively involved
with the positive direction of the resort, and he will
continue the same commitment to excellence established
by his father.
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GENERAL JOHN F. MILLER
plaque at the entry to the driveway circle to the
Silverado Country Club mansion states that
the Union Army’s youngest Major General,
John F. Miller, completed the mansion in 1889.
Right about Miller being the youngest Major General at
age 28. Wrong as to the 1889 completion date for the
mansion. The correct date was 1870.
A social item in the Napa Valley Reporter duly reported
that, “Gen. John F. Miller and family arrived on
Wednesday evening from San Francisco and
immediately drove out to their country residence on the
Berryessa road above Napa.”
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AN IDEAL PLACE TO LIVE
rom Rancho Yajome to “Lavergne” to Silverado
Country Club & Resort represents a progression of
Setsuo Okawa
time and facilities, but in all stages has been
considered one of the most ideal locations in which to
live - whether it be in California or the United States. It’s a great place to be. As
the 1966 sales brochure stated: “Silverado deserves elaboration. There is
nothing comparable. We call it a new concept in living. But that description is
inadequate. Silverado is more. It is a picture book setting. A private estate of
your own overlooking the Napa Valley. A home in an oak-shaded hollow with a
fairway for a backyard. A weekend clubhouse cottage. It is convenient for the
commuting executive. Two championship golf courses. And membership
available in the West’s most promising country club. It is assured value and
appreciation for the property owner. It is like no other concept of living... now, or
to come, for there is no other unspoiled setting with the beauty, climate, the
location, and amenities of Silverado.”
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Silverado. It is a classic.
Gen. John F. Miller
Sound familiar? This could be a society column entry in
today’s Napa Valley Register, pertaining to any member
of Silverado Country Club’s property owners from the
Bay Area who spend their weekends at their “country
residences.”
In fact, this news item was reported on June 22, 1883, some 30 years after the young
Civil War hero first came to Napa as a bachelor in the spring of 1853. He was 22, a
graduate of the New York State Law School, who had left his Indiana home because
of poor health to come to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama.
Miller practiced law in Napa for two years before moving to Benicia, the state capital,
“as a more ample field for his rapidly unfolding talents.” After a year, he returned to
his Indiana home and in 1857, married Mary Chess, who belonged to one of the
wealthiest families in Pennsylvania.
Written by Gen. Robert Smith, USA-Ret., member of Silverado, from research on the
Miller family provided by the Napa Valley Historical Society, and from personal
scrapbooks and interviews with Pat Markovich, Ed Westgate, and Robert Meyer, plus
information provided by the present owners’ representative, and from the Napa Valley
Register files in the Napa County Library. Revised October 2001
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In 1860, Miller was elected to the state senate of Indiana, but resigned his seat shortly
thereafter to enter the Civil War as a colonel on the staff of the Governor in the Indiana
Volunteers. He served brilliantly under Generals Sherman, Buell, Rosecrans, and
Thomas as colonel of the 29th Indiana Regiment. He was twice wounded, the second
time at the battle of Liberty Gap at a spot called “Lavergne.” At the battle of Nashville
he was brevetted a Major General for conspicuous gallantry, the youngest officer of
this rank in the Union Army.
At the end of the war, Miller returned with his family to California and was appointed
Collector of the Port of San Francisco. At the end of four years, he declined a
reappointment to the post and then devoted himself to commercial interests by which
he acquired fortune as the President of the Alaska Fur Company.
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