Clay & Joyce Hatch and their Mountain Valley Ranch offer many interesting and unique opportunities to the people of the San Diego area.

We love our community, a combination of large town amenities with small town charm. It is an antique hunters paradise. The area offers a wide variety of recreational interests, such as fishing, mountain climbing, horseback riding, and our annual Ramona Fair and Rodeo. In case you are not familiar with California geography, the town of Ramona is about 30 miles from down town San Diego.  Located in the Northern corridor of San Diego County, it was originally known as "Nuevo". Then in 1884 the settlement was renamed after a lovely Indian maiden featured in the book "Ramona" written by Helen Hunt Jackson.  For other interesting information about our area go to Books To Read.

We are located in an area once referred to as "Valley of the Sun" by local Indians, and this ranch is part of the Stokes-Ortega 1843 Land Grant made by Mexican officials to Edward Stokes (aka Don Eduardo Stokes), and his father-in-law, Don Jose Joaquin Ortega. The settlers changed the name to "Valle De Pamo Santa Maria", meaning Warm Valley of St. Mary.  Then around 1875, the name was shortened to "Santa Maria Valley".  

Edward Stokes was one of the first white men to own land in this area and he played an integral part in the bloodiest engagement in California history.  It was the only battle lost by United States troops who were  fighting with the descendants of the original Spanish ranching families. It is known as the Battle of San Pasqual. For those of you who enjoy reading, we offer more historical information on our California Ranching History page, an in depth look into the habits and customs of the people and the times.

We hope you have fun exploring our site! 
We know you will enjoy the real thing, so drop by for a visit
or send us an email.

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