Story and Photo By www.PhotoByVivian.com
On Feb. 12 groundbreaking ceremonies were held at the historic Long-Street Farm – (F. Bonetti) property that sits at the corner of Tank Farm Road and S. Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo. Before Tank Farm Road existed, the streets surrounding the land were Pismo Road, Ocean Blvd., Avila Road, Hwy. 101 and now, South Higuera Street. The buildings on the property which are on the city’s list of historic places including a farm house, barn, granary and water tower, will be incorporated into a Marketplace that will have a brewery, restaurant, farm and agricultural store, and various retail stores on a little more than 4 acres. The property was once a sprawling 80- acre farm that grew field crops, sugar beets, barley, flowers, grains and beans. A brass plaque dedicated in 1998 on the property recognizes the agricultural heritage of the farmland and reads, pioneers to these ranchlands include John Harford (think Harford Pier in Avila Beach), Frank McGolphur, Joseph D. Grant, George and Mary Long and the Florino Bonetti Family. Joseph D. Grant of San Francisco purchased the land from John Harford in 1880. City records show George W. Long had leased the property and lived in the farmhouse and then purchased it in 1908. In 1923 the property was sold to Florino Bonetti. The Bonetti Family sold the property in 1978. Up until just about a year ago the farmhouse was a rental and blackberries grew freely on the property. www.PhotoByVivian.com
