Ranchita, California | |
|---|---|
  Ranchita, California  Ranchita, California | |
| Coordinates:33°12′36″N116°31′00″W / 33.21000°N 116.51667°W /33.21000; -116.51667 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  California |
| County |  San Diego |
| Elevation | 4,065 ft (1,239 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code | 92066 |
| Area codes | 442 & 760 |
| GNIS feature ID | 247950[1] |
Ranchita (Spanish for "small ranch") is anunincorporated community inSan Diego County,California. Ranchita is 9 miles (14 km) southwest ofBorrego Springs. Ranchita has aZIP code of 92066.[2] A notable feature is the Rancheti, an 11-foot-tall (3.35m), 300-pound (136.08kg)fiberglassYetistatue erected on Montezuma Valley Road in December 2007.[3] The statue was featured on the March 4, 2016 installment ofZippy.[4] The Ranchita Historical Society, Inc., a California 501(c)3 Non-profit corporation,https://www.RanchitaHistoricalSociety.org, has been established to continue the vision of the Montezuma Valley Historical Society which transitioned to preserve and document our history for future generations to come.
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 bySpaniards andNative 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 withdeer hunters who traveled long distances to hunt the area. After Helm vacated the area, land locators fromLos Angeles brought in new homesteaders who settled there freely under theHomestead Acts, the informal founding of Ranchita.[5]
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 toWarner Springs on February 27, 1926.[5]
There was a longstanding desire to construct a road connecting the town ofBorrego Springs 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. TheSan Diego County Board of Supervisors denied a request to construct the road on April 5, 1937.[6] Crews began construction on the road in 1955 but would not complete the project until 1964.[7] The road was formally opened on June 24, 1964, and was celebrated for shortening the trip fromEscondido to Borrego Springs by 14 miles.[8] The highway,County Route S22, is known as Montezuma Valley Road in its stretch through Ranchita.
"The Pines Fire" swept thru this area on August 2, 2002 and devastated many residents and the landscape. The Montezuma Valley Volunteer Fire Department was officially taken over in 2015 when Cal Fire and the County of San Diego built and staffed Fire Station #58.
