Featured image credit: Everyday On Tour
How do a lumber magnate, the Marx Brothers, a haunted forest, and a white-knuckle auction relate? It all has to do with the property at the center of it all… but isn’t at the center of much of anything anymore. The mysterious Cobb Estate is long gone, yet its name looms large in the rustic hills of Altadena. And once you read the story below, you’ll understand why.
A Lumberjack at Home in the Forest
The remarkable story of the Cobb Estate begins with a lumberjack on the other side of the country, swinging his axe in the maple and spruce forests of Maine. But Charles Cobb was no ordinary lumberjack. Rather, he had dreams big enough to dwarf even the 10 million acres of the North Woods. Cobb hacked his way to the presidency of Seattle, Washington’s International Lumber Company, and, felled tree by felled tree, built his empire, making him a certifiable lumber baron.
In 1916, he and his wife, Carrie, purchased a sprawling parcel of land at the foot of Echo Mountain in Altadena. There, they erected the Cobb Estate, looming in the shadows cast by the San Gabriel Mountains. Cobb had his home designed in a Spanish style, all the rage at the time due to America’s fascination with the exotic elements of the western frontier. Obscure hardwoods and purposeful landscaping employing eucalyptus, palms, and lodgepole pines echoed Cobb’s historic rise.
A Freemason, a Nun, and a Comedian Walk Into a Real Estate Deal…
Amongst Cobb’s impressive achievements, he had attained the honor of 32nd Degree Mason, the highest degree of freemasonry accessible by one’s own efforts, as well as serving as Knight Commander of the Court Honor at the Scottish Rite Cathedral of Pasadena. These feats would foreshadow the fate of the Cobb Estate following the lumber tycoon’s death. Carrie passed away in 1935, and Charles soon followed in 1939, leaving his estate to Pasadena’s Scottish Rite Temple.
However, the Masons seemed to need money more than a mansion, so they sold the Cobb Estate. After exchanging hands a few times, it was purchased by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange to be used as a retreat for nuns recovering from the exhaustion of caring for patients at St. Luke Hospital in Altadena.
By 1956, the Sisters of St. Joseph were looking to sell the Cobb Estate, gaining the attention of three of the five comedy legends, the Marx Brothers. Harpo, Groucho, and Gummo purchased the property while Chico and Zeppo were conspicuously absent from the investment. Perhaps this had to do with Gummo’s business savvy or, on the other hand, with Chico’s and Zeppo’s links to high-stakes gambling.
The Mansion at the Edge of the Haunted Forest
None of the Marx Brothers actually took up residence in the Cobb Estate. Rather, they strictly considered the property an investment. And as they mulled over how best to utilize their acquisition, strange rumors started to form about the home and its surrounding forest. Altadena locals reported unsettling noises and ethereal lights issuing from the vacant Cobb Estate.
While Charles Cobb himself never confirmed any supernatural occurrences in the home, the legend built in its neglected shadows. In truth, the home had become a hot spot for thrill-seeking teenagers and vandals. Over the years, police took around 175 teenagers and 20 adults into custody for petty crimes involving the Cobb Estate.
The Marx Brothers had largely squandered their investment and, by 1959, decided to raze the majority of it. All that was left of the majestic Cobb Estate was a foundation and a few crumbling walls. And yet, the Marx Brothers continued holding the property in this limbo for the next decade. When they finally decided to sell it, it was with the intention of converting the grounds into a cemetery, no doubt getting a rise out of the residents who already believed the area to be haunted.
The Teen Crusade to Save the Cobb Estate
The cemetery was not to be. In 1971, the remains of the Cobb Estate (and, more importantly, the land upon which it once stood) went up for public auction, and developers were poised to snap it up. Fearing that this would ultimately be a loss for the community, a student named Maggie Stratton, the president of a local conservation club, prodded Bob Barnes, who taught social studies at nearby John Muir High School in Pasadena, to inspire students to raise funds so that the community could purchase the land. Within a mere nine days, the efforts of the students, combined with a generous donation from art collector Virginia Steele, secured $150,000 toward the purchase of the former Cobb Estate.
Even with the financial backing of the Altadena community, developers outbid the students by $25,000. Down but not out, Barnes made an unusual appeal to auctioneer Milton Wershaw, requesting a five-minute break to try to muster enough funds to counter the offer. Perhaps it was Barnes’ impassioned declaration that his bid was actually the “people’s bid” that swayed Wershaw to not only grant the request, but to throw in $1,000 of his personal money. Shockingly, Barnes managed to muster the additional funding.
Though the developers were given the all clear to go as high as $300,000, one of the agents representing the developers, Dirk Feenstra, stepped back and declared, “I will bid no more. I, too, am one of the people.” Against all odds, the community now owned the land that once supported the Cobb Estate.
More Than a Legend
Today, the trails that extend from the ruins of the Cobb Estate are open to the public and managed by the U.S. Forest Service. It’s often considered a local gateway to the Sam Merrill Trail and Echo Mountain, where, in the Victorian days, a railway once transported visitors to a nearby mountaintop resort.
Strip away the frankly incredible history of the Cobb Estate, and you’ll still find a place that ranges from the special to the sacred for Altadena residents. Purchased by the community for the community, it’s natural land that can’t be touched by developers. And while the incredible story of the foundation that remains is interesting, it doesn’t mean as much to the community as scenic trails that weave through natural beauty, open to all.
With a brand that says as much as JohnHart’s, Senior Copywriter Seth Styles never finds himself at a loss for words. Responsible for maintaining the voice of the company, he spends each day drafting marketing materials, blogs, bios, and agent resources that speak from the company’s collective mind and Hart… errr, heart.
Having spent over a decade in creative roles across a variety of industries, Seth brings with him vast experience in SEO practices, digital marketing, and all manner of professional writing with particular strength in blogging, content creation, and brand building. Gratitude, passion, and sincerity remain core tenets of his unwavering work ethic. The landscape of the industry changes daily, paralleling JohnHart’s efforts to {re}define real estate, but Seth works to maintain the company’s consistent message while offering both agents and clients a new echelon of service.
When not preserving the JohnHart essence in stirring copy, Seth puts his efforts into writing and illustrating an ongoing series entitled The Death of Romance. In addition, he adores spending quality time with his girlfriend and Romeo (his long-haired chihuahua mix), watching ‘70s and ‘80s horror movies, and reading (with a particular penchant for Victorian horror novels and authors Yukio Mishima and Bret Easton Ellis). He also occasionally records music as the vocalist and songwriter for his glam rock band, Peppermint Pumpkin.
