In 1953,
Sada Sutcliffe Coe made one of the most significant contributions to wilderness preservation of any woman in American history,
yet her visionary thinking and lasting legacy were accorded little recognition or fanfare. Sada Sutcliffe Coe Robinson( 1910-1979)
Sada Coe: Pine Ridge and the Great Beyond
Story and images by Robin Shepherd, Morgan Hill Historical Society
In 1953,
Sada Sutcliffe Coe made one of the most significant contributions to wilderness preservation of any woman in American history,
yet her visionary thinking and lasting legacy were accorded little recognition or fanfare. Sada Sutcliffe Coe Robinson( 1910-1979)
As a young child, Sada loved the unspoiled beauty of the Diablo Mountain Range bordering Santa Clara County to the East. Over the years, she became intimately familiar with the foothills above Morgan Hill and Gilroy by exploring on horseback and participating in cattle drives.
As an adult, she believed strongly that the land should be protected from development and preserved for the enjoyment of future generations. In an extraordinary act of generosity, Sada gifted nearly 13,000 acres to Santa Clara County for the formation of Henry W. Coe Park. Her philanthropy was the catalyst for what would eventually become the largest state park in California at 87,000 acres.
In a sense, Sada’ s story began in 1847 when her grandfather, Henry Willard Coe, Sr., came West to homestead in Oregon. The Gold Rush brought him to California in 1849. Nearly a decade later, he married Hannah Huntington Smith, and they settled in Willow Glen where he raised hops and silkworms, and patented a process for sulphuring fruit.
By 1860, the Coe family was raising cattle on the San Felipe Ranch( Evergreen District of San Jose). That same year, Sada’ s father, Henry W. Coe, Jr.( Harry) was born. Harry and his brother Charles were raised in the ranching way of life.
In 1892, Harry and Charles bought a vast undeveloped property known as Pine Ridge from John and Priscilla Thomas, whose descendants still own a ranch nearby. The property was situated south of Mt. Hamilton and about 12 milles East of downtown Morgan Hill, nestled in the Diablo range.
Harry married Rhoda Dawson Sutcliffe in 1905. The couple met when Rhoda, formerly a nurse in the Spanish-American War, was caring for his nephew Eben who had pneumonia. That same year, they built their first house on Pine Ridge Ranch,
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