Update on June 20, 2023: After 26 years of care, POST transferred 5,100 acres of Cloverdale Ranch to Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District for ongoing management. POST will retain ownership of the ranch’s fertile farmland, including Root Down Farm, until the farmer is able to purchase the property in the near future. Read more about the transfer here.
Since 1997, POST has been caring for the 6,857-acre Cloverdale Coastal Ranches near Pescadero, CA. The property is home to miles of important stream habitat, hundreds of acres of redwood forest, prime agricultural soils and rare coastal grassland habitat. It is also home to the Root Down Barn, one of the iconic barns on the San Mateo coast.
Unfortunately, the barn, which was over 200 years old, was falling apart and impacting the health of Root Down Farm, the current farm on the property. So, POST, invested in rebuilding the barn as part of our Farmland Futures Initiative.
The new barn was sustainably built under the direction of Karl Bareis from Santa Cruz Timberframes. It was built to last for the next 300 years and will be home to many future generations of farmers and farm animals.
The deep importance of rebuilding this barn was clear from the number of local farmers, neighbors and POST supporters that eagerly showed up to help with a good old fashioned barn raising last July 4th weekend.
We hope you enjoy this video series on the rebuilding of this historic barn:
Chapter 3: Built to Last
Chapter 1: Farewell to Root Down Barn
Chapter 2: Grown Here, Made Here, Built Here
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About Post
Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) protects open space on the Peninsula and in the South Bay for the benefit of all. Since its founding in 1977, POST has been responsible for saving more than 87,000 acres as permanently protected land in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. Learn more