POST Acquires Pristine 408-acre Ranch in Gilroy
April 11, 2008
Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) has acquired a 408-acre ranch on Whitehurst Road, off Highway 152, in Gilroy. POST purchased the land, formerly known as Clark Canyon Ranch, on April 10 from private owners for $2.9 million.
“POST’s goal in acquiring Clark Canyon Ranch is to have it added eventually to the chain of public open space taking shape along the western hillsides of southern Santa Clara County,” said POST President Audrey Rust. “Given the property’s close proximity to downtown Gilroy and dense development nearby, we considered this the last opportunity to save this land. Had POST not stepped in now to protect this land, as many as six large estate houses could have been built here, interrupting wonderful natural scenery, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation possibilities for people.”
A corner of the ranch is located just across Whitehurst Road from Mt. Madonna County Park. “The potential for a trail corridor linking the properties is a major reason for POST’s interest in protecting this land,” said POST Executive Vice President Walter T. Moore.
POST purchased the ranch from relatives of the original owners, Burt and Veda Clark, who bought the land in 1948. At the time, the couple owned Clark’s Jewelry Store in downtown Gilroy. They had no children of their own, according to nephew John Toth, but they delighted in creating a modest retreat where friends and family could hunt, fish, swim and hike through the woods.
The backcountry views were especially inspiring to Veda, an accomplished artist who took great pleasure in painting scenes from the ranch. She painted landscapes in Yosemite and other spectacular natural places, yet a frequent subject of her art was the long, broad meadow right outside her living room window.
Though they had a walnut orchard on the land and raised a few cattle, the Clarks never used the ranch for commercial purposes, leaving its plentiful natural and scenic resources largely undisturbed for the last 60 years—another major reason for POST’s decision to acquire the property, said Moore.
The ranch stretches toward the wooded foot of a box canyon that drains into Bodfish Creek, a spawning ground for endangered steelhead trout. Lined with sycamores, a tributary of the creek cuts through the property. Mixed forest rises steeply to one side; across the water lie more meadows and part of the former walnut orchard rising to a high wall of chaparral. Trees and shrubs include madrone, big leaf maple, bay laurel, scrub oak, snowberry and California buckeye. Eagles, wild turkeys and mountain lions make their home on the land.
As recently as two years ago, a few head of cattle still roamed the ranch, maintaining grasses through grazing. When his Aunt Veda passed away in 2006, Toth became successor trustee of her trust and inherited a share in the property along with his siblings and two cousins. They had the ranch on the market for more than a year when a series of inquiries led them to POST. Once they became aware of the nonprofit land trust’s ability to purchase land for future public use, they knew they had found a buyer whose conservation goals the Clarks would have admired.
“I know my aunt and uncle would have been very pleased to see this land protected forever. They were always inviting people to come out and enjoy the land,” said Toth. “Now, thanks to this sale to POST, their legacy will live on and a whole new generation will be able to experience this special place.”