Rancho Sisquoc: Enduring Legacy on an Historic California Land Grant
Ranch celebrates the spectacular landscape, fascinating history,
colorful characters, and timeless traditions of one of California's last
intact Mexican land grant ranches.
The ranch's 37,000 acres extend from the edge of the Los Padres National
Forest to the lush vineyards on the mesas to fertile farmland in the
bottomland, and range almost the entire length of the Sisquoc River
valley in northern Santa Barbara County. Engaging text, maps, and
archival documents are paired with both vintage and contemporary
photographs to bring the landscape and its history to life, from
prehistory to the days of the vacqueros, from turn-of-the-century
homesteading to the realities of a contemporary cattle ranch, farming
operation, vineyard and winery with a passionate wine club membership
numbering 1,500.
Forewords by former Governor Edmund Gerald Brown, Jr.--a California
history enthusiast--and Stephan T. Hearst, whose interest in
preservation extends to his oversight of the vast ranch lands
surrounding Hearst Castle, help give readers a sense of this special
place and its unique role on California history. An introduction by
co-owner Judith Flood Wilbur and preface by author Elizabeth Clair Flood
speak to the role the ranch has played in the lives of one family for
seven decades, and their hopes for preserving it for future generations.
Rancho Sisquoc: Enduring Legacy on an Historic California Land Grant
Ranch will give readers a sense of this special place and its unique
role in California history.
