Esparto (previously known as Esperanza), California, along Highway 16 in Capay Valley, in northwestern Yolo County. (Photographs taken by Peggy B. Perazzo, about 2002 and July 2005, used with permission.)

“Esparto, near the entrance to Capay Valley, is one of the most beautiful towns in the county. It is surrounded by fertile soil, largely devoted to the culture of almonds, Sultana grapes, prunes and alfalfa. It has a fine brick hotel, a high-school building, a creamery, and is a large shipping point for wheat and barley.” (Excerpt from “Woodland, California,” By. R. A. Thompson, Out West magazine, Vol. XVII, No. 1, July, 1902, pp. 120-135.)

Vaca Valley Clear Lake Railroad, Esparto Depot (postcard photograph)

Looking down main street/Highway 16 of Esparto (photograph taken about 2002)

The Wyatt Building on Highway 16 in Esparto (photographs taken about 2002 and 2005) The Wyatt building was a three-part, two-story building, and all parts of the building are interconnected. According to a local source, the Wyatt Building has been condemned and has been vacant for at least 20 years. According to a Yolo County resident, the Wyatt building was torn down after a section of the side wall collapsed onto State Highway 16.

Train Depot on Highway 16 in Esparto. (photographs taken about 2002 and 2005)