The Land We Steward

The History of this Land

Our primary farm site consists of about 40 acres we lease at Cascade Historic Ranch, a 400 acre ranch about 9 miles south of Pescadero town. Año Nuevo State Park and the Pacific Ocean largely border the Ranch to the west while the expansive wilderness of the Santa Cruz Mountains and Big Basin State Park border the Ranch to the east.

The land we farm, and much of the area that surrounds it, was for thousands of years inhabited by the Quiroste Tribe (one of the many tribes now collectively referred to as the Ohlone), which is now represented by the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. The Amah Mutsun Land Trust is undertaking a number of important land-based restorative projects in our area including on Cascade Historic Ranch.

Like many indigenous to this area of California, the Quiroste Tribe was forcibly removed from the area and subjected to the Spanish mission system. Some rebelled against the brutality of the mission system, most notably among them in our area the legendary Pomponio. Pomponio (for whom a number of local landmarks are named after) led a group of Native American fugitives (known as Los Insurgentes by the Spanish) who fought against the oppressive mission system from hideouts in the Pescadero area.

During the height of the Gold Rush in the mid 1800's, many immigrants came to California to try their hand at gold mining. However, in California's Gold Country, many foreign-born immigrants and Californios (the Hispanic population that lived in California before it became part of the United States) faced discrimination from white immigrants who came from other parts of the United States. Excluded from participating in California's mining economy, many of these foreign-born immigrants moved to more remote parts of California. Many of these immigrants - particularly of Portuguese and Italian descent - ended up in Pescadero and developed farms, fisheries, whaling operations, and logging businesses.

In 1853, the Steele family of Illinois created Cascade Ranch as a large dairy to supply milk and cheese for the booming city of San Francisco. The Steele's built a highly successful multi-generation dairy enterprise in what was a vibrant coastal agricultural economy. Many of the buildings and structures on Cascade Historic Ranch and many of the other surrounding farms and ranches were built by members of the Steele family in the 1850's and decades that followed. Many of those buildings - including the 1853 three-story tall barn that houses our tractors - remain in remarkably good shape and are on the National Register of Historic Places.

As is showcased on the land we farm, one of the truly beautiful things about our rural community is just how apparent and alive its history is. Many farms, buildings, and places in and around Pescadero are the legacy of generations from long ago.