\n
Hidden beneath mature oaks in the foothills of Montecito is a neighborhood whose quiet lanes reveal only fragments of what once stood here.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Long before Riven Rock became one of Montecito\u2019s most private residential enclaves, it was a sprawling Gilded Age estate encompassing approximately 87 acres near the convergence of Hot Springs and Cold Springs creeks. Built for one of America\u2019s wealthiest families, Riven Rock combined grand architecture, extraordinary gardens, art, agriculture and an unusual family history that remains part of Montecito lore more than a century later.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Today, the original estate has largely disappeared, but portions of its landscape, stonework and buildings remain woven into the properties that occupy the land.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\n
\n\n
\n
\n
<\/default:svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The McCormick Family Comes to Montecito<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
The story of Riven Rock begins with the McCormick family of Chicago.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Cyrus Hall McCormick developed the mechanical reaper and built the agricultural machinery business that eventually became part of International Harvester. The invention transformed the harvesting of grain and helped create one of America’s great industrial fortunes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The McCormicks began visiting the Santa Barbara area in the late 19th century and acquired the Montecito property in 1896. Construction on the estate began shortly thereafter.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
At the center of the story was Cyrus’s youngest son, <\/span>Stanley Robert McCormick<\/span><\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Educated at Princeton and interested in art, Stanley traveled through Europe and studied painting in Paris before joining the family business. In 1904, he married <\/span>Katharine Dexter<\/span><\/strong>, an extraordinary figure in her own right who had studied biology at MIT and was one of the institution’s earliest female graduates.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Their lives, however, would unfold very differently from what their extraordinary wealth might have suggested.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Stanley developed severe mental illness as a young man and eventually required constant care. By 1908, he was living at Riven Rock under close supervision, and the Montecito estate became his home for nearly four decades.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
His life at Riven Rock later inspired T.C. Boyle’s 1998 novel <\/span>Riven Rock<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
How Riven Rock Got Its Name<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
The name itself came directly from the landscape.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Near the original entrance stood a large sandstone boulder that had been split apart by an oak tree growing through it\u2014a literal \u201criven rock.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
That natural feature became the name of the estate and, ultimately, the Montecito neighborhood that occupies the land today.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
It is a wonderfully Montecito origin story: architecture and wealth may have shaped the estate, but the name came from an oak tree and a piece of sandstone.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Architecture of the Original Riven Rock<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
The centerpiece of Riven Rock was a substantial <\/span>two-story Mission Revival residence constructed of stone<\/span><\/strong>, begun in the late 1890s.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The architectural history becomes particularly interesting when looking at surviving archival material.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The Wisconsin Historical Society holds original architectural drawings associated with Riven Rock by the prominent architectural firm <\/span>Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge<\/span><\/strong>, including drawings for terraces, balconies, mantels, gates and formal garden structures dating from around the turn of the 20th century.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
These weren’t merely decorative additions. Together, the architecture and landscape created an estate in which buildings, terraces, gardens and Montecito’s natural topography were conceived as a larger composition.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
And the landscape itself had an important designer.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Warren H. Manning and the Gardens of Riven Rock<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
In 1897, noted Boston landscape architect <\/span>Warren H. Manning<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0prepared a general landscape plan for Riven Rock.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
An original survey and plan preserved by the Wisconsin Historical Society identifies Manning as the landscape architect and depicts the McCormick property at a scale of one inch to 100 feet.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Manning had worked with Frederick Law Olmsted and would become one of America’s influential landscape designers.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
At Riven Rock, the landscape grew into something remarkable.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The property included exotic plantings imported from Japan, a six-acre lemon orchard, a dairy, handcrafted stone walls and bridges, and extensive gardens.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
One of its most memorable landscape features was the <\/span>Four Leaf Clover Garden<\/span><\/strong>, portions of which have influenced the restoration and design of later residences built on the former estate. Original garden paths, sandstone stairs, walls and columns have survived in portions of the neighborhood.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The estate was essentially its own private world.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Golf, Art, Music and Life at Riven Rock<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n\n
Riven Rock extended far beyond a grand house and gardens.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
A <\/span>nine-hole golf course<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0was created on the property. There was a swimming pool, an extensive art collection and a theater capable of hosting live performances and films. The household even employed a musical director.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
The McCormicks also maintained a beach property at Sandyland, and Stanley was occasionally driven there from Riven Rock in one of the family’s Rolls-Royces.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
It’s difficult today to imagine a single Montecito estate encompassing all of those uses across nearly 87 acres, but estates of this scale helped establish the character of early Montecito.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
Rather than maximizing development, these properties were conceived as private landscapes\u2014architecture surrounded by gardens, agriculture, native oaks and expansive open space.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
That philosophy continues to influence what makes Montecito real estate distinctive today.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n