September Ranch: Nearly Two Centuries of Carmel Land and Legacy
Just east of Carmel-by-the-Sea, along Carmel Valley Road, lies one of the larger and more historically interesting pieces of land in Carmel: September Ranch.
Today, many people know the property as the site of ONE Carmel. But the story of this land began long before plans for a residential community were drawn.
For nearly two centuries, it has been part of a Mexican-era rancho, a major dairy and cattle operation, a working family ranch, a source of locally quarried Carmel Stone and, eventually, one of the area's best-known equestrian properties.
Its location is equally important to its story.
September Ranch lies in Carmel, only about 2.5 miles east of Highway 1 and just east of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Monterey County planning records place the property within the Carmel Valley Master Plan area, reflecting its geographic relationship to the lower valley, but its present-day location and lifestyle are closely tied to Carmel.
And this particular part of Carmel occupies an interesting transition.
Travel east from the immediate coast and the landscape begins to change. The marine influence gradually becomes less dominant. Monterey pines begin to mix more visibly with coast live oaks, while the forest gradually opens into meadows and rolling hills. On many days, the fog or low cloud cover closer to the coast gives way to sunshine only a few miles inland.
September Ranch sits almost directly within that transition.
That relationship between coast and valley has helped shape both the land and the way people have used it for generations.
If the distinction between Carmel, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Carmel Valley seems confusing, our guide to Carmel vs. Carmel Valley explains how geography, mailing addresses, climate and lifestyle overlap in this part of the Monterey Peninsula.
A Different Side of Carmel
Carmel is often pictured as Carmel Beach, Ocean Avenue, cottages beneath Monterey pines and the compact streets of Carmel-by-the-Sea.
September Ranch is a very different expression of Carmel.
Here, the land opens.
The property climbs from relatively level pasture near Carmel Valley Road into wooded hills and ridges approaching 1,000 feet in elevation. Monterey County records describe vegetation that includes Monterey pines, coast live oaks, coastal sage scrub and grasslands.
The environmental transition is visible in the trees themselves. Monterey pine is one of the defining native trees of the Monterey Peninsula, while coast live oak becomes increasingly prominent as the landscape opens moving inland. The two species overlap throughout this part of Carmel, helping create the distinctive transition from coastal forest to oak-covered hills and grasslands.
The climate transitions as well.
Immediately nearby, the Quail community describes its location two to three miles from Highway 1 as being “on the cusp between the coastal fog and sunny valley.” That same description helps explain the setting of September Ranch.
The property is inland enough to begin experiencing the warmer, sunnier character associated with Carmel Valley while remaining only minutes from Carmel-by-the-Sea and Highway 1.
That creates an unusual lifestyle combination: open land, oaks, hills and a longstanding equestrian character, all within a more pastoral setting that remains close to Carmel Beach, Ocean Avenue, Pebble Beach, Point Lobos, Monterey and Pacific Grove.
But long before anyone thought of the property in lifestyle terms, it was working land.
Before September Ranch: Rancho Cañada de la Segunda
The documented history of the property reaches back to California's Mexican period.
In 1839, the approximately 4,366-acre Rancho Cañada de la Segunda was granted to Lázaro Soto. The rancho extended across a large portion of what was then sparsely developed land east of the Carmel Mission and into the lower valley.
Ownership changed several times during the 19th century before the property became associated with one of the most important early ranching families in the Carmel area.
That family was the Hattons.
William Hatton and Carmel's Early Ranching Era
William Hatton was an Irish immigrant who settled in the area with his wife, Kate, during the early 1870s.
In 1875, Hatton registered his Bar H cattle brand with Monterey County. Over the following years, he became involved in cattle ranching, real estate, business and increasingly sophisticated dairy operations.
By the late 1880s, Hatton was superintendent of ranch and dairy operations at Rancho Los Laureles.
He began acquiring Rancho Cañada de la Segunda, purchasing its western section in 1892 and eventually controlling the entire rancho. According to the Carmel Valley Historical Society, the Hatton family's combined holdings ultimately grew to more than 10,000 acres and supported as many as 1,000 head of cattle.
This was a very different Carmel from the one we know today.
Development was sparse. Roads were primitive. Agriculture, cattle and dairy operations occupied land that would eventually become neighborhoods, golf courses, resorts and residential communities.
September Ranch emerged directly from this agricultural landscape.
Frank Hatton and the 909-Acre Upper Dairy
William Hatton died unexpectedly in 1894 at only 45 years old.
His widow Kate continued operating more than 4,000 acres with help from her brother John Harney. Eventually, the extensive Rancho Cañada holdings were divided among members of the Hatton family.
In 1925, a 909-acre tract was deeded to William and Kate's son, Frank D. Hatton.
That tract was the future September Ranch.
The Carmel Valley Historical Society identifies Frank Hatton's property as the Hatton Upper Dairy. Its terrain already contained the characteristics recognizable on the property today: more usable pasture and building land toward Carmel Valley Road and increasingly wooded, steep terrain rising into the hills.
An extraordinary surviving map helps put this history into perspective.
In 1903, Monterey County Surveyor Lou Hare prepared a map of Rancho Cañada de la Segunda for William Hatton's widow, Kate. On that map, the future September Ranch can be identified at the eastern end of the historic rancho. The Porter-Marquard family later donated the map to the Carmel Valley Historical Society.
There is also a remarkable photograph from 1925.
It shows Frank Hatton's wife, Irene, and daughter, Harriet, looking southeast across Carmel Valley Road. According to the Historical Society, the ranch house and pasture belonging to Frank's sister Harriet occupied the area that would later become the September Ranch equestrian facility.
Frank Hatton actively managed his ranch until his death in 1943.
The connection between the early Hatton ranch and September Ranch is therefore not simply a matter of tracing ownership on paper.
It is the same landscape.
Carmel Stone From the Ranch
Ranching was not the property's only historic use.
A rock quarry operated on September Ranch into the 1950s.
According to the Carmel Valley Historical Society, much of the local supply of Monterey Formation shale—commonly known as Carmel Stone—came from this quarry.
That is an especially interesting connection because Carmel Stone became part of the architectural character of the Monterey Peninsula and can still be seen today throughout Carmel, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove and Monterey.
The locally distinctive stone appears in buildings, walls, fireplaces, chimneys, entryways and landscape features throughout these communities.
While September Ranch is documented as an important local source of Carmel Stone, surviving records do not clearly identify which individual structures used stone specifically quarried from this property.
The quarry nevertheless adds another important layer to the history of September Ranch. This was not simply ranchland or acreage being held for some future use. Materials removed from its hills became part of the growth and built environment of the surrounding Monterey Peninsula.
The Porter-Marquard Years and a Changing Carmel
The Porter-Marquard family acquired the Frank Hatton tract during the 1950s.
Part of the southern land subsequently became the Rancho Cañada subdivision, while the remaining ranch property to the north was sold to Barbro Fridden.
The change reflected what was happening throughout Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula during the middle of the 20th century.
Large agricultural holdings were being divided. New neighborhoods appeared. Highway access improved. Golf, tourism and residential development became increasingly important.
Yet much of the future September Ranch remained open.
Then, in 1966, the property began the chapter that would give it the name we know today.
Why It Is Called September Ranch
In 1966, Barbro Fridden sold the approximately 896-acre ranch to Howard Morgens, then chief executive of Procter & Gamble, and his wife, Anne.
Howard and Anne Morgens named their new property September Ranch.
The origin of the name is wonderfully uncomplicated.
According to the history assembled by the Carmel Valley Historical Society with help from members of the Morgens family, September was Howard and Anne's favorite month, when they found the weather particularly beautiful and the views from the ranch spectacular.
Anyone who knows Carmel in September can appreciate the choice.
Late summer and early fall can be a particularly beautiful period on the Monterey Peninsula, and September Ranch's slightly inland location adds another dimension. It sits close to the coast while beginning to experience the sunnier conditions of the valley.
The name was personal.
But it also turned out to fit the land remarkably well.
The Red Barn and the Equestrian Years
For decades, one of the most recognizable features of September Ranch has been the red barn and surrounding pastures along Carmel Valley Road.
It is more than a picturesque roadside landmark.
Monterey County records date the barn at the equestrian center to approximately 1932, with an addition constructed around 1954. That places the original barn squarely within the Frank Hatton era, when this land was still part of his working ranch.
The County also documents a nearby farmhouse dating to approximately 1875. As part of the later September Ranch approval process, both the farmhouse and barn were evaluated by a historic-resource consultant. Although they were not ultimately designated for a formal Historic Resources overlay, their documented age provides an important physical connection to the agricultural history of the property.
The Carmel Valley Historical Society describes the approximately 20-acre September Ranch equestrian facility as a well-known historic landmark that generations of local residents passed along Carmel Valley Road.
During the Morgens era, horses became an increasingly visible part of that landscape.
For many years, the ranch was managed by Ray Hackworth, a prominent California horse trainer and showman whose career extended through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The Carmel Valley Historical Society credits Hackworth with founding the California Reined Cow Horse Association and records his success in reined stock-horse competition.
Later, Gerry Paddock leased the equestrian operation for more than two decades. Tanya Bennett and Blaine Whiteman subsequently became its operators.
Cattle continued to graze portions of the ranch as well.
For people driving Carmel Valley Road, the red barn, pastures and grazing horses became a familiar part of the landscape.
By 2018, the equestrian facility was boarding around 40 horses, with riders having access to roughly 12 miles of trails across the property.
The horse-boarding operation later closed as construction and redevelopment work began, but the equestrian history remains an important part of the September Ranch story.
The barn, horses, pastures and trails were not architectural props added later to give the property a ranch identity.
They were part of the working life of September Ranch for generations.
Perhaps most importantly, the red barn remains.
As the property enters its next chapter, the structure has been preserved, maintaining one of the most recognizable visual connections between the old September Ranch and what comes next.
More Than 50 Years of Morgens Family Ownership
The Morgens family would own September Ranch for more than half a century.
During that time, generations of the family experienced the property as a ranch while questions gradually arose about its long-term future.
The family eventually pursued residential development, but the process proved anything but simple.
Development proposals dating to the 1990s initiated years of environmental review, public debate, lawsuits and revisions involving issues such as water, traffic, density, open space and views from Carmel Valley Road.
The history is complicated enough to deserve its own detailed examination, but the important point for the September Ranch story is that development did not happen quickly.
The land remained largely open through decades in which the surrounding Carmel area continued to grow.
Eventually, Monterey County approved a plan that included 73 market-rate residential homesites, 22 inclusionary and workforce homes, an equestrian component and extensive protected open space.
The long entitlement process became another chapter in the property's history.
September Ranch Changes Hands
In February 2018, more than half a century after Howard and Anne Morgens acquired the ranch, September Ranch changed ownership.
Recorded-sales reporting identified the transfer from September Ranch Partners LLC to Carmel Reserve LLC for $19.25 million. Contemporary reporting tied the purchasing group to DLC Capital Partners.
The sale brought an extraordinary period of family ownership to a close.
By then, the property had already lived several different lives.
It had been part of Rancho Cañada de la Segunda.
It had been Hatton dairy and cattle land.
It had been Frank Hatton's working ranch.
Stone had been quarried from its hills.
The Morgens family had given it the September Ranch name.
Horses had traveled miles of trails through the property.
And the red barn along Carmel Valley Road had become a familiar local landmark.
After decades of planning, the land had also been approved for another use.
But many of the defining characteristics of September Ranch remained remarkably recognizable.
What Makes September Ranch Different
History explains where September Ranch came from.
Its location helps explain why the property continues to feel distinctive.
September Ranch is in Carmel, just east of Carmel-by-the-Sea, rather than deep in what most people today think of when they hear “Carmel Valley.”
Yet it is far enough inland for the landscape to begin changing.
That difference can be seen in the vegetation documented on the property: Monterey pines, coast live oaks, sage scrub and broad areas of grassland.
It can be felt in the climate as well.
The Pacific is still close. Coastal fog and marine air remain part of the environment. But this part of Carmel begins transitioning toward the warmer, sunnier conditions farther inland.
And then there is the lifestyle.
From September Ranch, Carmel-by-the-Sea is only minutes away.
So are Highway 1 and the broader Monterey Peninsula.
Carmel Beach, restaurants and shops in town, Pebble Beach, Point Lobos, Monterey and Pacific Grove can remain part of everyday life.
Yet the experience on the ranch itself is entirely different.
There are broad pastures, mature oaks, wooded hills and open views.
Historic equestrian facilities and trails remain as reminders of the generations of riders who once experienced the property on horseback.
And there is enough land to create a sense of separation that is increasingly difficult to find this close to Carmel-by-the-Sea.
It is not Carmel Valley transplanted closer to the coast.
It is a different side of Carmel—one that happens to sit where the coastal landscape begins transitioning toward the valley.
That distinction has probably been part of the property's appeal for far longer than anyone used the language of lifestyle or real estate to describe it.
Explore more about the broader area in our Carmel real estate and neighborhood guide.
A New Chapter Begins
Today, the land generations knew as September Ranch is entering another chapter under the name ONE Carmel.
Monterey County records identify ONE Carmel as the subdivision originally entitled under the September Ranch name, while the current community encompasses approximately 891 acres with 73 estate homesites.
Much will change as homes are built and a new community takes shape.
But ONE Carmel does not begin on an empty canvas.
It begins with land that already has nearly two centuries of documented history.
Land that was once part of Rancho Cañada de la Segunda.
Land worked by one of Carmel's important early ranching families.
Land where dairy cattle grazed and Carmel Stone was quarried.
Land that Howard and Anne Morgens came to love enough to give it a name inspired by their favorite month of the year.
Land where horses, barns, pastures and miles of riding trails became part of the September Ranch identity for generations.
And notably, the familiar red barn remains, preserved as a tangible connection between September Ranch's agricultural and equestrian past and the property's next chapter.
The land occupies a particularly unusual part of Carmel—just east of Carmel-by-the-Sea, where the forested and marine-influenced environment of the coast begins opening toward the oaks, grasslands and sunshine of the valley.
What happens next is the ONE Carmel story.
And that deserves a chapter of its own.
For now, understanding what is being created there begins with understanding what came before it.
September Ranch was never simply undeveloped land waiting for something to happen.
It has been part of the Carmel story for generations.
And that story is still being written.
Frequently Asked Questions About September Ranch
Where is September Ranch?
September Ranch is in Carmel, California, along Carmel Valley Road approximately 2.5 miles east of Highway 1 and just east of Carmel-by-the-Sea. The property also lies within Monterey County's Carmel Valley Master Plan area.
How far back does the history of September Ranch go?
The documented land history reaches back to 1839, when the area was part of the approximately 4,366-acre Rancho Cañada de la Segunda Mexican land grant.
Why is it called September Ranch?
Howard and Anne Morgens purchased the ranch in 1966 and named it September Ranch because September was reportedly their favorite month, when they particularly enjoyed the weather and views from the property.
Was September Ranch a working ranch?
Yes. The land was associated with cattle and dairy ranching during the Hatton era, later included a stone quarry, and eventually developed a substantial equestrian operation with barns, pastures and miles of riding trails.
How old is the red barn at September Ranch?
Monterey County records date the equestrian center's red barn to approximately 1932, with an addition dating to about 1954. The barn has been preserved as the property enters its next chapter.
What is September Ranch called today?
The historic September Ranch property is now being developed as ONE Carmel. The current community encompasses approximately 891 acres and 73 estate homesites, while much of the surrounding landscape is intended to remain protected open space.
Sources and Further Reading
This history was developed from Monterey County planning and historic-resource records, archival land-grant material, the Carmel Valley Historical Society's published history of September Ranch and the Hatton ranching era, contemporary local reporting, and current ONE Carmel project information.
- Carmel Valley Historical Society — “A History of Carmel Valley's September Ranch,” June 2018
- Carmel Valley Historical Society — history of William Hatton and the Hatton dairy operations
- Monterey County — September Ranch subdivision and historic-resource records
- Historic Rancho Cañada de la Segunda land-grant records
- Current ONE Carmel community information