Zanolini, Silvio

Silvio Zanolini was born in the Canton Ticino, Switzerland, on July 28, 1859, to John B. Zanolini and Mary Pedrazzi. At age fourteen, he moved to Cardiff, South Wales, where he learned the trade of a watch and clock maker. He immigrated to America via New York, arriving in California to work on dairy farms in Petaluma and Bodega before relocating to the Riverdale section of Fresno County.

In Fresno County, Silvio gained distinction as the pioneer butter-maker at Riverdale while working for Job Malsbury. He built substantial real estate holdings, acquiring a 178-acre ranch near the Riverdale schoolhouse and running a separate forty-acre alfalfa ranch. Generous with his wealth, he donated land for the local school and a county road, while contributing financially to the construction of both the United Brethren Church at Riverdale and the Catholic Church at Lanare.