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Hornblower Histories

Hornblower Farm was settled by Honore de Hornblower and Jebediliah Hörnblowér in the early years of the 20th century. Honore and Lily, as she was usually called, came from a small region known as Swiss Upenziel. The couple immigrated to California after being forced to flee their native home because of a bitter family feud. According to legend, the Hornblowers and the Hörnblowérs, who claim no relation whatsoever, had clashed for centuries over which family produced the best cheese.  Honore met Lily one warm Summer night and they fell in love immediately. Naturally, their families forbid the young lovers from ever seeing each other again, but Honore and Lily could not be kept apart. With the help of a sympathetic goat, they passed secret messages back and forth. By the end of the week, they had devised a plan. Honore was locked away in a tower high above Hornblower Manor. Lily, known for her bravery, stormed the estate, fighting back the rival Hornblowers with her pitchfork. After the daring rescue, Lily and Honore made their way to the harbor where they escaped on a stolen schooner. 

For three years they traveled to ports all around the world in search of the perfect home. It was during this long journey that Lily became pregnant with their only child. The intrepid couple reportedly docked in San Francisco Bay just weeks before Lily gave birth to a baby boy. They named him Ulysses Hörnblowér de Hornblower as a way of proclaiming their journey at sea was over. It would be another six months before they found their perfect plot ; Thirty six acres  where the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas meet the San Joaquin Valley. They called it Hornblower Farm. 

-j.