The Cupertino Courier
News
Preserving historic Stevens Canyon Ranch
By Hugh Biggar
The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District has purchased the historic Stevens Canyon Ranch in the hills above Cupertino and Saratoga.
Craig Britton, the district's general manager, said the 238-acre property is an ideal site for regional trail connections and recreation.
The district had been managing the grounds since 2005. It recently acquired funding from the Santa Clara Valley Water District through a $1.6 million riparian conservation easement, and from grant and state bond money.
Stevens Canyon Ranch is close to 6,600 acres of public preserves and parks. The purchase of the ranch helps the open space district connect parklands and preserves to create a corridor of natural spaces in the Santa Cruz Mountains, according to David Sanguinetti, area superintendent for the district.
The corridor also links the Saratoga Gap and the Montebello and Pichetti Open Space preserves.
"Stevens Canyon Ranch gives us more trail opportunities, including connecting to trails up to Skyline Drive," said Sanguinetti.
The ranch property's landscape includes grasslands, meadows, pear and apple orchards, and redwood groves. There is a 12-foot diameter, old-growth redwood thought to be the largest tree remaining in Stevens Canyon.
The ranch is located along winding Stevens Canyon Road and dates back to the 1880s. It includes an old homestead built by the Bordi family, and a stone winery. The faded paintings of two dancing women dressed in the flapper style of the 1920s adorn the doors to the old winery building. At that time, alcohol was illegal due to the Prohibition-era in the United States.
"It's hearsay, but I have heard the dancing ladies provided a way of communicating that the winery was a place you could find alcohol," said Sanguinetti.
The land also includes old stone mortars used by the Ohlone--the first settlers of the site--to grind acorns.
The Bordi family sold the land in the 1950s to the Glendenning family. Beez Glendenning Jones then sold the land to the Peninsula Open Space Trust in 2004.
At the time, Glendenning Jones said a developer had approached her, but she wanted the property to remain intact.
"I couldn't stand the thought of having huge mansions on the property," Glendenning Jones told the Courier in 2004.
Tenants currently occupy the ranch property, which includes old tractors, fruit packing boxes and farm equipment. According to the district, the old farm equipment does not have significant historical value.
Sanguinetti said there were no immediate plans for renovations of ranch buildings.
"We'll eventually develop a master plan on how to open it to the public," he said.
