Alamo Creek Ranch History
There is a very special history behind Lieff Alamo Creek Ranch. It’s a history we are proud to share with you:
Way back in 1880’s, Cary Oakley purchased property in Alamo Creek Canyon in southern San Luis Obispo County.
Oakley would homestead and farm the 160 acre parcel, growing oats and wheat for the grazing of sheep and cattle. Oakley Ranch was a thriving, dynamic operation that would remain in the Oakley family for the next 118 years, passing down through four generations!
It is of great historical significance that the original buildings remain standing at Alamo Creek Ranch today. In fact, the beautiful main house ranch was built in the late 1800s and was known as the Stanley home, named for Stanley Mountain, which towers directly behind the property. We now use this lovely building as a guest house.
In 2000, Jeff and Greg Sanders purchased the ranch. You may know them as the Sanders brothers, owners of the famed Vintage Nurseries. The brothers, thrilled with the superb terroir of Alamo Creek Valley, planted 40 acres of several varietals.
In 2004, the Ranch was purchased by the Lieff family.
Southeast of Nipomo, you will discover a series of vast ranches nestled against the rugged terrain of the Los Padres National Forest. In this little visited pocket of San Luis Obispo County, cows outnumber inhabitants and enjoy grazing amidst lush oak woodlands, freshwater creeks, and large swaths of rich soil. One of these private properties is the Lieff Alamo Creek Ranch, a rugged and beautiful 2,017-acre property that the Land Conservancy has permanently preserved for wildlife and agriculture.
Immediately adjacent to Los Padres National Forest, Lieff Alamo Creek Ranch sits in the shadows of Stanley Mountain (elevation 2,500 feet) where the land drains to Alamo Creek and the Cuyama River below. These waterways feed a reservoir that serves as a source of drinking water for nearby communities. The property contains nearly forty acres of prime soils that support wine grapes and a modest herd of cattle.
With a robust oak woodlands, including coast live oak, blue oak, and valley oak, as well as areas of coastal scrub, chaparral, and serpentine soils, Lieff Alamo Creek Ranch is home to rich habitat diversity that supports abundant wildlife. Especially important are the areas of the ranch that offer prime habitat for the critically endangered California condor. At one time only 22 California condors were known to exist in the world. The ranch’s vast meadows and rocky outcroppings that serve as suitable nesting sites make it an essential location for the recovery of this special animal.
Lieff Alamo Creek Ranch Project Highlights
Conservation of 2,017 acres of ranchland, productive agricultural land, and wildlife habitat
Habitat for the recovery of the endangered California condor
Safeguards three major freshwater drainages that serve as drinking water for nearby communities
Preserves healthy habitat for wildlife including large mammals such as mountain lion, black bear, and elk