The Cary Ranch is a privately owned 160+ acre ranch in rural Anza, Riverside County, California. It is described as having three streams of history flow through this "door to the desert" (La Puerta).
Mountain Cahuilla Indian village
Originally called Paukí, the site of the Cary Ranch was an important Mountain Cahuilla Indian village. Left behind is much evidence of the Cahuilla habitation and culture. Many bedrock mortar grinding holes (morteros), smooth bedrock slicks, sherds of pottery, ceramic pots (ollas), and paintings in rock shelters remain.
Juan Bautista de Anza Expedition route
In the 1770s, the ranch site was the passageway out of the desert for the Spanish captain and explorer Juan Bautista de Anza who called the nearby pass El Puerto Real de San Carlos. His second expedition brought at least 240 settlers through the area. They camped nearby and proceeded to found what later became the city of San Francisco.
Homesteading and Ranching
In 1891, pioneer rancher Fred Clark acquired the land to raise cattle. He drove them down nearby Coyote Canyon to the Anza-Borrego desert for winter/spring grazing. Later, he retired from the cattle business and raised horses instead. Clark assisted Herbert Bolton in Bolton's landmark research on the Anza expedition routes which culminated in a book published in 1930. Art and Violet Cary bought the ranch from Clark in 1938 and continued the ranching tradition. The Cary family heirs are still in possession of part of the ranch.
La Puerta Foundation
A 501(c)3 non-profit public benefit organization founded in 1999
La Puerta Foundation was established to preserve and protect the Cary Ranch. Its mission is to...
-Promote permanent protection and preservation of historical, natural, cultural, and archaeological features at the Cary Ranch
-Offer educational opportunities for students and the public through interpretive exhibits, guided tours, and special events at the Cary Ranch
-Facilitate access to credentialed researchers for study and documentation of the Cary Ranch
-Establish a repository for documents, photographs, artifacts, and publications associated with the historically significant features of the Cary Ranch.
CONTACTS for La Puerta Foundation
PHONE: (951) 927-9541
EMAIL: info@LaPuerta.org
MAIL: 43430 East Florida Avenue
#FPMB300
Hemet, CA 92554
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