Prior to serving as a Claretian seminary, the property was a ranch owned by King C. Gillette, the founder of the Gillette Safety Razor Company. Gillette built several Spanish Colonial Revival style buildings on the ranch. In 1952, Bob Hope purchased the property and donated it to the Claretian Missionaries. The Claretians dubbed the property “Claretville” in honor of the founder of the congregation and converted the grounds into a seminary which served as the site of the philosophate, theologate, and novitiate. In 1970, the Claretians sold the property.