History of the Franklins
The Franklin Family
For 6 generations, the Franklin and Claassen family has seen Paso Robles grow into the city it is today. From the Claassen’s who discovered the first road of Adelaide that became Paso Robles, to the Franklin’s who farmed and maintained the land that eventually became the city, these families have been working hard for everything that we know and love about Paso Robles.
“Old Man Franklin”
Wesley Combs Franklin was an engineer studying at Cal Poly in the early 1900s when World War 2 changed everything.
He was told to take up farmland and grow food for the troops, which he did graciously and well. Mr. Franklin farmed and farmed and got so good at it that he made it a business, which at one point cultivated him 500 acres of land that he was maintaining with his family.
As time went on the Franklin Family grew and worked hard for what they had, managing farms as far as the eye could see. Until one day the landscape for Mr. Franklin changed forever.
Oil drilling on private lands was a very popular idea in the mid 1900’s. One fateful day, Texaco came out to offer their drilling on Mr. Franklin’s property. Seeing how it was a popular and lucrative thing to do in that time, he said yes and let them get on with their drilling. Little did they know just what they were drilling over.
During the drilling process, instead of oil coming up, hot water shot out of the ground! This was a huge surprise to everyone and by the end of the day the Texaco workers left the hole to Mr. Franklin and his family. This water would prove to be even better than oil would have ever been.
Understanding the importance of what he just acquired, Mr. Franklin began digging lakes and rivers to contain and drain the water to the nearest river that flows into the ocean, being the Salinas River. He spent 10 years digging with his tractor to create these channels before eventually uncapping the water hole. Therein, he singlehandedly created his own beautiful lake that would prove to be an incredible reserve to harbor fish and wildlife from all around North America.
