Swanton Pacific Ranch - Ranch Facilities

Ranch Facilities

The facilities on Swanton Ranch are used for ranch management and student housing. The Ranch administrative offices are housed in the Green House, which has a kitchen/dining room area for interns studying and staying on the Ranch. The Red House contains two meeting rooms that open into one large room. The Red House has five bedrooms for student interns, two bathrooms and a kitchen. The Al Smith House is located on the east side of Swanton Road, just north of the Cal Fire station. This house was built by Al Smith for his frequent visits. It has two bedrooms, two baths and a magnificent stone fireplace. The living room overlooks the ocean. There is a separate training facility here which can be used as a meeting room. A water monitoring lab is also located in the Al Smith House. The barn at Swanton Ranch was built in 1874. It is enclosed with wood siding that was milled from the Ranch's own timber. It has a corrugated iron roof. Much of the structure was originally constructed with pegs rather than nails. Cal Poly SLO has taken over the restoration of the barn and has used the original construction concepts whenever feasible when remodeling it. The Bunk House is another place for interns to stay while studying at the Ranch. It currently can accommodate ten students. It has seven bedrooms and four bathrooms. The Staub House has a living area upstairs for resident graduate students, and a kitchen which serves the yurts on the lower level. It is named for one of the previous settlers on the Ranch. The Yurts, located in front of the Staub House provide accommodations for forty people on field trips to Swanton Ranch. The yurts were installed in 1999. There is also a building called the Cheese House on Swanton Ranch. The Cheese House is listed in the County Register of Historic Buildings.