Ranchita (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "small ranch") is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Ranchita is southwest of

Borrego Springs Borrego Springs (''borrego'' is Spanish for "sheep") is a census-designated place (CDP) in northeastern San Diego County, California. It is located within the Low Desert area of Southern California. The population was 3,073 at the 2020 census. ...

. Ranchita has a ZIP code of 92066. A notable feature is the Rancheti, an 11-foot-tall (3.35 m), 300-pound (136.08 kg)

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

erected on Montezuma Valley Road in December 2007. The statue was featured on the March 4, 2016 installment of '' Zippy''.

History

Before present-day Ranchita was founded, it was known as Cañada de la Verruga, a Spanish name meaning "Valley of the Wart" that was used by

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

and Native Americans. The area was later known as "Wid Helm's place," named after homesteader William Johnson Helm. Upon his arrival to the area, Helm constructed an adobe house just west of present-day Ranchita. Helm's property was popular with deer hunters who traveled long distances to hunt the area. After Helm vacated the area, land locators from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

brought in new homesteaders who settled there freely under the

Homestead Acts The Homestead Acts were several laws in the United States by which an applicant could acquire ownership of government land or the public domain, typically called a homestead. In all, more than of public land, or nearly 10 percent of t ...

, the informal founding of Ranchita. The Verruga Post Office was founded in Ranchita on September 22, 1917. Several houses, a mine, and a school opened up around that time as the local population grew. Many of the new residents of the town left within a decade due to a lack of water. The post office was moved to

Warner Springs Warner Springs is set of springs and a small unincorporated area, unincorporated community in northern San Diego County, California. It is on the Pacific Crest Trail. Geography Warner Springs has a post office; its ZIP Code is 92086. It is loca ...

on February 27, 1926. There was a longstanding desire to construct a road connecting the town of

in the east to San Felipe, Warner Springs, and other western towns via Ranchita. The road long stood as a mere idea because Hellhole Canyon was an obstacle. The

San Diego County Board of Supervisors The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is the Board of supervisors, legislative and executive branch of the Government of San Diego County, California, county government of San Diego County, California. Though officially Non-partisan democra ...

denied a request to construct the road on April 5, 1937. Crews began construction on the road in 1955 but would not complete the project until 1964. The road was formally opened on June 24, 1964, and was celebrated for shortening the trip from Escondido to Borrego Springs by 14 miles. The highway, County Route S22, is known as Montezuma Valley Road in its stretch through Ranchita.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in San Diego County, California Unincorporated communities in California