In 1898, Albert Ross sold his well known Long Valley Ranch to Henry Butters Constantia named. Henry Butters for $15,480. Ross sold the property at a loss. In 1884, he constructed a 17-room mansion there at a cost of $14,000, that many referred to as the White House.*
Butters, then, was the president of the Northern Electric Railroad. It was Butters who christened the place Constantia, named for a city in South Africa noted for its vineyards. Butters transformed the ranch into a small village—complete with a general store, Wells Fargo Office, dwellings for the employees and he had a Catholic Church constructed, St. Mary’s Chapel.[1]
*One of the Ross descendants is none other than famed astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
My parents lived in that house sometime between 1941 to 1944. I have pictures of them standing in front of it.