The hotel was near John Bautista Henry Cooper's ranch. When he died in 1899, his wife Martha Brawley Cooper received of his estate. Their children John B.R. Cooper, Alfred, Alice, and Abelardo each inherited a share of the land. On April 9, 1913, she acquired land formerly owned Charles and Hattie Howland along the Little Sur River in a Sheriff's sale for $6,590.60 (or about $ today). When Alfred died in an auto accident on September 2, 1913, his two siblings Abelardo and Alice assigned their interest in his estate including the Rancho to their mother, Martha. The additional land apparently included the location of the Idlewild Hotel.