Schuknecht, Theodore H.

Theodore H. Schuknecht, born near Waterloo, Iowa, on February 24, 1868, was a successful rancher who established significant agricultural holdings in California. He was the sixth of thirteen children born to Christopher and Fredericka Schuknecht, who were German immigrants operating a farm and hardware store in Tripoli, Iowa. At the age of nineteen, Theodore assumed full responsibility for the family farm following the tragic death of his father. In 1892, he married Mabel Bennett, and the couple later had a son named Randolph. After farming a 160 acre property in Iowa, he decided to move his family to the Pacific Coast in 1907 to seek a better climate for his son health.

Upon arriving in California, Theodore settled in Fresno County and initially purchased forty acres in the Lone Star section as his home. Over the following decade, he expanded his agricultural operations by acquiring another forty acres nearby and a sixty acre ranch in Orosi, Tulare County. His land produced high quality Thompson seedless, muscat, malaga, and emperor grapes, as well as mission figs, valencia oranges, and alfalfa. Notably, choice layer raisins grown on his Fresno County ranches were purchased to supply the White House dining table for President Wilson. Outside of his ranching success, he served on the Lone Star district school board, supported the Raisin Growers Association, and actively participated in the First Presbyterian Church at Fowler.