Russel Heath, one of Carpinteria Valley's earliest American settlers, built a two-story adobe home here in 1858 and developed a farm he purchased for $336 into a ranch planted first in almonds and grapes, with a distillery for brandy, and later in walnuts. Heath also served as Santa Barbara's district attorney, first elected sheriff, and a California state legislator. In 1881 he commissioned architect Peter J. Barber to design an "irregular Italianate" Victorian mansion, by which time his 200 acre ranch had become the largest walnut orchard in the state. The ranch was sold to the Edwards family in 1914 and became known as Willmoor Farms, and lemon groves eventually replaced the walnut orchard. In 1972 the land was cleared and subdivided for development, and demolition of the old mansion revealed that part of the original 1858 adobe had been preserved within the mansion's west wing under clapboard siding. The Carpinteria Valley Historical Society, working with the developers and the City of Carpinteria, preserved this earliest known structure in the Carpinteria Valley by moving a planned public park to include the adobe, the remaining Victorian fountain, and the eucalyptus trees along Heath's original drive. The Heath Adobe and Heath Ranch was declared Carpinteria Historical Landmark #2 on April 9, 1973.