Uphill from this site once stood the Northam Ranch House, a pivotal landmark in the history of Huntington Beach. Originally part of a vast Spanish land grant known as Rancho Las Bolsas, the 1400 acres surrounding this hillcrest were purchased in 1896 by rancher and land dealer Robert J. Northam. Known as "Diamond Bob" for his expensive tastes, Northam was one of the most powerful men in the region at the turn of the twentieth century. Using a mule team, Northam moved at least one home to the property in 1897. The final L-shaped structure combined elements of the Neoclassical and Queen Anne styles. Northam lived here for less than a decade, and in 1905 the ranch passed to the Huntington Beach Company, which soon played a major role in capitalizing on the local oil boom and later in developing the once-isolated community into a major city. Throughout the century, the Northam Ranch House, known locally as the "Mansion," served the company as a ranch headquarters, a private residence for company managers, and a symbol of the Huntington Beach Company.