Join Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) along with Santa Clara County Parks in welcoming Jenny Clendenen, a long-time Almaden Valley resident and POST supporter, to hear about her new book MINE: El Despojo de María Zacarías Bernal de Berreyesa.
Learn the amazing local history of this Spanish matriarch, whose Californio family helped settle the whole Bay Area, and whose husband and father held vast parts of south San José. These lands included Rancho San Vicente located in Almaden Valley, a portion of which was protected by POST and is now the newest addition to Calero County Park.
After two American “heroes” showed up in the late 1840s, followed by the Gold Rush invasion, Zacarías’s fortunes changed. She lost ten of eleven beloved men, her longhorn cattle ranch, and the Almaden quicksilver mines–but not before taking her case to the U.S. Supreme Court. The landscape of Zacarías’s Rancho San Vicente had been Clendenen’s refuge for decades. When she discovered what had happened to María Zacarías, Jenny knew her story had to be told.
Register below. All registrants will receive a webinar access link prior to the event.
About Jenny Clendenen
Local to the Bay Area, Jenny spent 20 years exploring Rancho San Vicente, namely along Los Alamitos Creek. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from San Jose State University. Her essays and poetry have appeared in BBC Travel, Written River: A Journal of Eco-Poetics, Reed Magazine, Studies in Philology, and Gadling. Her newest nonfiction book, MINE: El Despojo de María Zacarías Bernal de Berreyesa, was a Finalist in the 2020 San Francisco Writing Contest. She also partners with her sister, Becky, at LitWits Workshops, where they make great books fun for kids in hands-on ways. Learn more about her work here.
Learn more about MINE: El Despojo de María Zacarías Bernal de Berreyesa and purchase your copy today.
Discover Rancho San Vicente at Calero County Park
Calero County Park is part of the Santa Cruz mountains just a few miles from downtown San Jose and offers stunning views of Santa Clara County. The reservoir, distinct to this 4,471-acre park, hosts a variety of recreational activities while the “back country” consists of hiking trails through oak woodland, chaparral and riparian habitats. POST played an important role in purchasing Rancho San Vicente in 2009 keeping it from becoming a luxury housing development. It was a key piece in completing a 15-mile greenbelt from Los Gatos to Morgan Hill, this 996-acre property was incorporated into Santa Clara County’s Calero County Park in 2018. For information about hiking the Bald Hills Loop trail click here.
About our Partners
The mission of the Santa Clara County Parks & Recreation Department is to provide, protect, and preserve regional parklands for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of this and future generations.
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Peninsula Open Space Trust protects and cares for open space, farms and parkland in and around Silicon Valley. Since 1977, POST has protected over 79,000 acres in San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties.
