Fifield Ranch is a
locale within the
Diablo Range
The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley are ...
in
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...
. It lies at an elevation of , west of the head of
Romero Creek
Romero Creek, originally El Arroyo de Romero, is a tributary stream of the San Joaquin River. Its source drains the slopes of the Diablo Range within the Central Valley of California, United States.
The Creek has its source in Stanislaus Count ...
and the Santa Clara County line, about a mile north of
Hagerman Peak. It is at the source of a tributary canyon and stream to
Chimney Gulch, itself a tributary of
East Fork Pacheco Creek.
History
Before the ranch existed, in the early 1850s, this location on a rolling plateau of grassland and oak groves was called Estación Romero and was a major station for the gang of
Joaquin Murrieta
Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes spelled Murieta or Murietta) (1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexican-American figure of disputed historicity. The novel '' The Life and A ...
along
La Vereda del Monte La Vereda del Monte (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Mountain Trail") was a backcountry route through remote regions of the Diablo Range, one of the California Coast Ranges. La Vereda del Monte was the upper part of La Vereda Caballo, (Spanish fo ...
, that followed what is now the course of
County Line Road from
San Antonio Valley
The community of San Antonio Valley, also called San Antonio or San Antone, is located along the Diablo Range in eastern Santa Clara County, California. The locale is bordered by Alameda County to the north and Stanislaus County to the east. ...
to where the ranch is located today. This station gathered in horses captured from the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...
opposite Arroyos
Quinto,
Romero
The name Romero is a nickname type of surname for a Roman or an Italian. The name was originally derived from the Latin word Romaeus and the Greek word Romaios, which mean Roman.
#A person on a religious journey or pilgrimage from Rome (possibly t ...
,
Alamos and
San Luis Gonzaga. Mustangs could be driven up trails from these arroyos to meet the droves moving southward along La Vereda.
Estación Romero was also a major hangout for the gang of
Joaquin Murrieta
Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes spelled Murieta or Murietta) (1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexican-American figure of disputed historicity. The novel '' The Life and A ...
with a spring and pasture land. It was located close by to the north of
Pacheco Pass a major trail between the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...
and the coastal counties. At that time the lands along that trail were not settled except for a few scattered ranchos and was ideal for robbing and murdering unwary or poorly armed isolated individuals and small groups of men returning from the goldfields. Also a brush and pole corral for the holding of stolen horses was located nearby in
Bull Heads Canyon where they were kept until they could be added into a passing drove on La Vereda at early daylight.
[ Frank F. Latta, Joaquin Murrieta and His Horse Gangs. Bear State Books, Santa Cruz, California. 1980.]
The site got its current name from the settler who built the main part of the house on the site just prior to 1860.
[
]
References
{{coord, 37, 07, 46, N, 121, 13, 57, W, display=title
Geography of Santa Clara County, California
Diablo Range
La Vereda del Monte