The heritage of the California based Burnette Company is steeped in rich history and spans generations; its story exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit for which the west is known. To understand the legacy of the Burnette Company is to glimpse into the history of California.

The Burnette Company’s roots go back to 1894, when Alexander M. Allan came to California with his wife and children. Allan, an architect, engineer, and contractor who had built race tracks in other parts of the U.S. had been commissioned by A.B. Spreckles, the sugar magnate, to build the Ingleside track near San Francisco. He stayed in the area, building a number of race tracks including Emeryville and Santa Anita.

Allan was eventually recruited to reorganize the Carmelo Land and Coal Co. which had land holdings and a coal mining operation in the area of Pt. Lobos, Carmel. The Allan family was captivated by this region, and when both coal mine and sub-division efforts failed, he set out to acquire the land, eventually accumulating 2400 acres of coastal property including what is known today as Pt. Lobos State Park. In 1898, the Allan’s moved and settled at Point Lobos where they developed such successful enterprises as an abalone cannery, a sardine packing plant, a dairy farm, and the first Monterey Bank.

In 1917, Allan’s oldest daughter Helen married Julian Burnette. With A.M. Allan, Julian organized and established the Monterey Canning Co. on Cannery Row, later founding Richmond Fisheries in the East Bay with an office on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf.

After A.M. Allan’s death in 1930, the family turned over the Point Lobos property to the state for a California State Park. In 1933, Julian and Helen moved to Los Altos. Surrounded by approximately ten acres of apricot orchard, here they raised their children.

In the 1950’s, suburban development exploded on the San Francisco peninsula.

As the value of property soared, the Burnettes decided to lease and develop part of theirs; a commercial building was constructed as was a 54 unit garden apartment complex. The Burnettes retained their rights to the family home which they occupied until their deaths, and to several small houses around the edge of the original orchard.

In 1960, Helen and Julian formed the Burnette Co. which they controlled, but with the participation of their three surviving descendents. To this day, the Burnette Co. remains a private and family managed company, with the Board consisting of members from each of the family lines.

With the sale of the Los Altos property in 2006, the Burnette Company continues to evolve with a more diversified portfolio across the United States.