Category: From the Archives

Photo of Thomas Edison, Luther Burbank & Henry Ford

Burbank & Famous Friends

Luther Burbank became an internationally known celebrity during his lifetime. Many famous people made the journey to small-town Santa Rosa to visit the plant breeder and view his experiments. The guestbook records visits from the East Coast, Europe, Australia and Mongolia among many others. Read about some of Luther’s most well-known visitors.

Stark Bros Burbank Gardens sign

Burbank’s Will & Plant Legacy

A writer is working on a book about Stark Bro’s Nurseries for its 200th anniversary. She seemed to be of the impression that Burbank “willed” his plant creations to Stark. In fact, Burbank’s will left everything to his wife and named her executrix. There was no mention of property or plants at all. We have no documentation that indicates that Burbank chose Stark to carry on his legacy. Some published material has quoted Mrs. Burbank as stating that her husband designated no successor. Initially, U.C. Berkeley and Stanford were interested in acquiring the Burbank property (Sebastopol at a minimum) to...