AS SETTLERS WAITED FOR THE SIX-YEAR Transcontinental Railroad project to be completed, the fertile agricultural lands of the Salinas Valley were being explored by hardy, post–Gold Rush homesteaders. The terrain initially was used exclusively for cattle ranching, as the land was deemed too dry for crops. Above: Workers at the John Foletta Dairy near Gonzales, circa 1903. Left: Milk being processed at a facility near Soledad, circa 1920. Courtesy of the Monterey County Agricultural & Rural Life Museum Courtesy of the Monterey County Agricultural & Rural Life Museum 1890s 1898 Japanese immigrants arrive to work in sugar beet fields 1890s Claus Spreckels promotes sugar beet processing; Spreckels Sugar Factory complete in 1899 1897 Del Monte Golf Course opens
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