About Us
After serving in WWII, where Clarence Neale survived on board the USS Honolulu, he settled in Saratoga, California to start what was to become a 4th generation family business. Clarence (or C.W. as he was known), and his father C.E. Neale established an antique shop named “The Barn” along with a budding new business called Neale & Sons, located in one of Saratoga’s historical sites from the 19th century. Starting in 1947, Clarence and his wife Laura bought and sold many of the valley’s historic estates and businesses while providing on-site liquidation services as well as appraisals from their roadside antique store: “The Barn”.
Together the Neales bought, sold, and appraised many sites that were later torn down to give way to the valley’s historical boom in the aeronautics, computer, and the internet industries. With Neale & Sons early roll starting in 1947, the vast orchards and farm lands in this fertile valley, gave way to the inception and development of what was to become Silicon Valley.
In 1963 the highway bordering “The Barn” was widened and the antique store had to be torn down to make way for progress. C.W. Neale embraced the changes and built Neale’s Hollow Business Center a stone’s throw away from where “The Barn” stood. There he continued his appraisal and on site estate sale business. In 1974 his son Doug Neale, upon graduating from the University of California Santa Barbara, joined his father in business and developed the company toward on- site auctions and a more diversified appraisal base.
C.W. retired in 1981 and left his son Doug to continue on with the family business. In 2003 the family tradition was strengthened again when Doug’s middle son, Austin Neale, after graduating from Whitworth University, joined the Neale & Sons team to focus on the the expanding world of internet commerce. These four generations have seen vast changes take place in this last half century, as a rich agricultural economy gave way to the e-commerce community. Auctioning and appraising the farms and firms that came before this information age, has given Neale & Sons a depth and understanding that can only be born from being a part of this tremendous evolution.
The evolution continues as Austin & Annaliese Neale adapt Neale & Sons to the era of Covid-19. The company’s primary focus now is to safely provide clients with trusted appraisal services.