The Lambert Ranchhouse

Born Joleen Lambert, she is part of one of the oldest ranching families in East Carmel Valley. As in any charismatic dynasty, being born a Lambert has a certain built-in prestige about it, not because they have airs or pretensions but because they are respectable folk who have made a name for themselves in horsemanship and hospitality and have that familial strain of uniqueness that draws people to them.

The Lambert ranchhouse on Tassajara was her childhood home. I only know it as it is now--quaint, but forlorn and lonely. In its heyday, it teemed with friends and family. Set in an oak- and madrone-lined valley beside a creek, it''s a white and green farmhouse that faces the road and the pastures beyond it. It''s an unpretentious and charming set-up that out-of-town vehicles take notice of as they pass on through to hunt or hike in the Ventana Wilderness or soak in the Tassajara hot springs.

Owned by the Lamberts for a good part of the 20th century, the ranchhouse was the social center for Jamesburg.

From: Monterey County Weekly http://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/2001/apr/12/true-daughter-of-the-golden-west/