Introduction

Ted Heath was one of the absolute best memory keepers from Rancho that I know of. His family had logged the Ojitos valley long before any of us were even a twinkle in our parents’ eyes, and those stories were passed down to him as part of his heritage. Ted generously shared them with all of us, but I wasn’t wise enough to write them down when I could have. I wish I had been, for he was a darned good storyteller.

I’m not the storyteller Ted was, but with a little bit of luck- and a whole lot of research!- I hope I can adequately tell Rancho’s story. What I do know of Rancho’s history is that it is long, and it is beautiful! I don’t have many primary resources at the moment, and I’m doing this in my spare time, so please check back often.

~Nicole

Camp Eliza Seligman

Rancho was preceded by Camp Eliza Seligman, which was named after a young lady who enormously enjoyed Girl Scouting. Her parents donated the original 14 acres to get the camp started and later donated an additional $6,000.00 to help purchase the land that Rancho sits on. Camp Eliza Seligman was originally located near Ponderosa, NM. Seligman Center in Prado Meadow is now named in honor of the family who gave us our start.

In 1963, after the Girl Scouts of New Mexico had outgrown Camp Eliza Seligman, capitol funds were used to purchase the land that Rancho sits on, and in 1967, a fundraising campaign was launched to raise the money needed to actually build our camp. Rancho was dedicated on July 13, 1969. For those real history buffs this land parcel was originally part of the the San Diego Land Grant bestowed upon Francisco Garcia de Noriego by the Governor of New Mexico in 1790.

You can find this info here: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2004-07-08/html/CREC-2004-07-08-pt1-PgE1321-2.htm