Born in Virginia in 1806, Reason P. Tucker moved west in successive leaps and arrived in California in 1846, escaping by one day the Sierra snow that trapped the Donner Party. Known as "Captain" Tucker, he led the first and later participated in rescue efforts. He mined in the Mother Lode without success and then turned to farming. About 1851 he built a home near this spot that became a social center, and in 1853 he sold about an acre of his land on which the first church in Napa Valley was built. In 1872, in a land ownership case arising from the turmoil created by the verification of Mexican land grants, he lost everything but his livestock. He then moved to San Francisco and later to Goleta, where at age 66 he began anew. He died at age 82 and was buried in Goleta Cemetery.