Dwelley Family Farms starts with a classic Brentwood dream: you see a promising future in the land, and you build a life around it.

In 1921, Charles and Eva Dwelley left Detroit, Michigan and purchased the Thornton Ranch in Brentwood. Family stories still point to the old fig and pomegranate trees already rooted there, said to trace back to Mission San Jose over 100 years ago. Charles and Eva planted a walnut orchard at their new homestead and set an example for generations to come: if you work hard and care for the land, the land will provide for you.

In the 1920s, as the Dwelleys were settling in Brentwood, another couple, Alexander and Elizabeth Mackenzie, immigrants from Scotland, moved to Brentwood with their children. Alexander worked with Balfour Guthrie & Co. to help plant orchards and build the irrigation canals and district that are still in use today.

Ken and Mary Dwelley

Meanwhile, Ken Dwelley, son of Charles and Eva, earned a degree in plant science from UC Davis and a master’s degree in education from Cal Poly. Ken continued his family’s farming operation after college using his scientific aptitude and hands-on practicality.

In 1939, the Dwelley and Mackenzie families joined when Ken Dwelley married Mary Mackenzie, the daughter of Alexander and Elizabeth Mackenzie. Ken and Mary met in high school at Liberty in Brentwood. They were proud parents of four sons: Bruce, Chuck, Jim and Mark. Ken continued to expand the family’s farming footprint in the area growing walnuts, apricots, almonds, and cherries in Brentwood.

The farm’s modern chapter comes into focus with Mark Dwelley, the youngest of Ken and Mary’s sons. In 1977, Mark began farming alongside his dad and grew a name for their farmstand on Delta Road where locals could find a wide variety of produce handpicked earlier that morning.

Mark later married Jeanette Hanson, whose family can trace their roots back to the Morgan family who settled on the east side of Mt. Diablo in the 1800s. Mark and Jeanette continued to expand the farm into wholesale markets across the Bay Area and helped to make a name for, now famous, Brentwood sweet corn. Mark’s farming is rooted in steady attention: watching the fields closely, picking at the right moment.

In 2006, Amy Dwelley Johnston, granddaughter of Ken and Mary, and her husband, Patrick Johnston and their two daughters Grace and Avery, moved into Ken and Mary’s old house on the Thornton Ranch. Patrick and Amy began working alongside Mark and Jeanette on the farm. By 2007, Mark and Patrick began growing certified organic produce alongside conventional crops. Patrick brought with him a dynamic sense of efficiency and organization, a strong sales and marketing background and a long-view mindset.

The 5th generation has already begun to leave their impact on the ranch with Grace and Avery spending their summers working at the Cherry U-Pick and Farmstand with grit and gratitude. Learning that the real harvest is not just in the fields, but in the values passed down from one generation to the next.

In 2009, John Dwelley, Mark’s son, returned to Brentwood after attending college, to work on the farm. John helped to implement new technologies in the farming operation and complemented Mark and Patrick to lead the farm into the 21st century. John was later joined by his wife Caitlin and their two children Lucy and Luke.

Today, Dwelley Family Farms still operates with the same care, hard work, and sense of community as their family did over 100 years ago. Acknowledging that they would not have been able to achieve longevity in this industry without generations of dedicated employees.

Whether it is Organic U-Pick Cherries or the Farmstand, Dwelley Family Farms provides the freshest fruits and vegetables and looks forward to sharing the harvest with their community.