Yolo County CA Archives Biographies.....Hoppin, Charles Rossiter 
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Author: Tom Gregory

CHARLES ROSSITER HOPPIN

    Among the early settlers of Yolo county whose names will ever be kept in
grateful remembrance is that of the late Charles Rossiter Hoppin, one of the
very first pioneers to embark in the stock industry within the limits of this
county, also one of the first to undertake extensive operations as a raiser of
grain, and likewise a leading promoter of movements for the local upbuilding.
When first his eyes rested upon the environment so familiar to his later
activities he beheld a vast stretch of untilled country, apparently suitable
only for grazing purposes. Oaks made the landscape beautiful and Cache creek
afforded abundant water. Here and there a cattle-ranger's cabin broke the
monotony of the view or a herd of stock betokened the presence of cowboys in the
vicinity, but for the most part the surroundings presented an aspect wholly
primeval. Civilization had not yet shed its benign influence over the fair and
fruitful land and nature still held almost undisputed sway. It would have
required a far-seeing and optimistic vision to predict the prosperity of the
present day, when multitudes of comfortable country homes indicate the presence
of a contented throng of progressive agriculturists and fields of waving grain
betoken seasons of bountiful harvests. Mr. Hoppin was one who grasped the
possibilities of the soil and climate, and was not only one of the first to
raise grain, but also alfalfa and fruit. Some of the trees planted by him on the
ranch in 1853 are still in bearing. In company with others he built the first
irrigation ditch, thus utilizing the waters of Cache creek.

   Born in New York state, Charles Rossiter Hoppin started on his westward
migrations in early life, for he was but a boy when he settled at Niles, Mich.,
and there he attended the public schools for some years. As soon as he heard of
the discovery of gold in California he made preparations to come to the coast,
and during the spring of 1849 he joined an expedition which crossed the plains
with wagons and oxen. Fair success came to him in the mines, but in a few months
he tired of the work, and early in 1850 he came to the ranch in Yolo county that
still is owned by the family. With his brother, John, he bought one-fourth of
the old Spanish Rancho Rio de Jesus Maria, and also purchased stock to put on
the land. In later years he engaged in raising hay and grain. The increase in
land valuations and the large returns from the crops made him one of the leading
farmers of the county, and he continued active in agriculture until the
infirmities of age compelled his entire relinquishment of work.

   For a long period after his arrival in the west, Mr. Hoppin remained a
bachelor, but eventually he returned to the home of his youth, and there (Niles,
Mich.), in 1874, he married Miss Emily Bacon, who was born in that city and
received excellent educational advantages at Mount Holyoke Seminary in
Kalamazoo, Mich. The family of which she was a member belonged to the honored
and influential pioneer element of Michigan, and her father, Hon. Nathaniel
Bacon, became one of the leading jurists of the state, being especially
prominent in the southwestern part thereof. For years he served as a judge in
Branch, Cass and Berrien counties, and often he was called to hold court in
other parts of the commonwealth, where his reputation for impartiality and
logical reasoning had preceded him. While still rendering distinguished service
as a jurist he was stricken with a fatal illness and soon was called by death
from the scene of his professional successes.

   The family of Charles R. and Emily Hoppin comprised six children, but one of
the sons died in infancy and another, Edward, passed from earth in 1900, three
years before the demise of the husband and father, who passed away at the old
homestead in May of 1903. The eldest son, who is the namesake of his father,
occupies a part of the home ranch, and with his wife and three children has a
comfortable home on the estate. Harriet, Mrs. August J. Kergel, has two
children; her husband farms a portion of the Hoppin estate. Edith married Luther
C. Young and remains with her mother, Mr. Young cultivating a portion of the
ranch. The youngest child, Dorothea, is a student in Snell's Seminary at
Berkeley. In her religious associations Mrs. Hoppin has been identified from
girlhood with the Episcopal Church. Mr. Hoppin was also a devoted church member
and contributed generously to missionary causes. After his death Mrs. Hoppin
became the manager of the ranch, and in this work she has had the efficient
assistance of her sons and sons-in-law, all of whom are skilled farmers and
owners of fine herds of Holstein dairy stock. Six hundred and forty acres are
under cultivation, and of this tract three hundred acres are irrigated,
affording excellent opportunities for the raising of alfalfa and fruit. A
vineyard of choice grapes has been made a profitable adjunct of the ranch, and
the raising of grain is still followed with noteworthy success.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from

HISTORY OF YOLO COUNTY CALIFORNIA
WITH
Biographical Sketches
OF
The Leading Men and Women of the County Who Have Been Identified With Its Growth
and Development From the Early Days to the Present

HISTORY BY
TOM GREGORY
AND OTHER WELL KNOWN WRITERS
ILLUSTRATED COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME

HISTORIC RECORD COMPANY
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA [1913]

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