The Call Ranch House
Preservation Project

Asa Frank Call, a prominent lawyer and business man, came to Corona in the late 1890s. Originally from Sioux City, Iowa, Call moved West to become a citrus farmer; he purchased acreage of land then known within the Orange Height Trust. The land became The Call Ranch, and the properties extended between what is now Lester and Compton Streets, below and above Ontario Street. 

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It was called a “Magnificent Property” in Corona by The Queen Colony, 1902, and the writer had the following to say: “The largest orchards in Corona, and among the largest in the state owned by an individual, are the properties of A. F. Call. They comprise 240 acres of oranges and lemons, all in heavy bearing and finest condition. With a view of preserving the uniform grade of his fruit, Mr. Call erected a large and thoroughly modern packing house with lemon curing rooms, orange and lemon packing room, box factory and all up-to-date conveniences, from which he packs only his fruit, under his own brands, thus insuring to the buyer a reliable standard.” The Call Fruit Company Packing House was located in the same area where we now have the Metro Station. 

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A.F. Call died tragically in 1913, but the Call Ranch continued to grow citrus well into the 1900s. For years, the Call Ranch homestead was utilized as the home for the Ranch foremen and their families.