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6 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | AUGUST 2020 By Resident Bob Chaparro When you hear the expression "stock farm" you may think of cattle. But this is a horse of a different color. The story of the Hemet Stock Farm is intertwined with two of the key figures in the town's early years, William F. Whittier and Edward L. Mayberry, and their efforts to "one-up" San Jacinto. In 1900 San Jacinto's citizens wanted to build a racetrack. Building a competing racetrack in Hemet was seen as a business opportunity that coincided with Mayberry's interest in trotter horses. But Mayberry's quest was shattered by financial problems. Whittier successfully sued Mayberry over a debt and subsequently acquired Mayberry's racing stock. In late 1903 plans were in progress for the track, and construction began shortly thereafter. By 1909 a racetrack suitable for horses and a "gentlemen's driving club" for the few early automobile owners were completed on a parcel bounded by Oakland and Devonshire Avenues and State and Gilbert Streets. The facility also included a manager's residence (the oldest structure in Hemet), boarding stables and grandstand. One of the first events was a motorcycle race that attracted 2,000 people, quite a turnout for a town with less than 1,000 residents. In 1910 trotter Wilbur Lou, a product of the Stock Farm, set a world record for yearling stallion trotters. Wilbur Lou went on to break track records at several venues. Besides horse and motorcycle races, the first airplane to land in Hemet, a 1910 Deperdussin monoplane, did so on the track in 1913. As the years passed the Stock Farm continued its role as a site for raising, boarding and training horses. The Stock Farm passed through several hands and received less attention and maintenance. Eventually, all activities ceased. In the early 2000s the Hemet-San Jacinto Valley Historical Society, working in cooperation with the city, organized to save the Stock Farm as a park for the public. This effort was unsuccessful when the Garrett Group outbid the city for the property. The Garrett Group proposed a plan for a mixed business and residential development, retaining some of the historic buildings in place and keeping a portion of the property as a heritage park. The homes would have been replicas of early Hemet homes. Then came the big real estate bust and planning stalled. For now, the Stock Farm is safe from destruction as nothing can be torn down without a city permit since the Stock Farm is in a historic zone. But the future of this historic asset remains unclear. The Hemet Stock Farm

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