The Wind Crest land has seen its share of colorful owners—from a law-abiding landscaper to a notorious innkeeper who allegedly ran illegal gambling  operations.

Long before Erickson Retirement Communities bought the land for Wind Crest in the spring of 2004, it was used as a ranch dating back to the late 1800s.

The first owners in 1905 were Fred A. Johnson and his wife Jennie, who sold it a year later to a local landscaper named Matthew Plews. By 1908, his many  hreenhouses were filled with the fruits of his labor, including trees, shrubs, and vegetables.

In 1937, Plews sold the ranch to a hotel proprietor named O.E. “Smiling  Charlie” Stephens, who was widely suspected of running gambling operations on the property.

Stephens was sent to prison in 1939 after being convicted of detonating a car bomb that severely injured one of his associates. In 1943, Stephens’ nephew Edward Jordan purchased the property and then sold it a year later to Californians Fred and Marguerite Eberhardt.

Since most of their family resided in California, the unassuming Eberhardts only lived on the property during the summer. Still, they doted on the ranch,  conducting extensive remodeling projects. Eventually, family ties beckoned them back to California and they sold the ranch to Gates Rubber Company in 1967.