At the end of Moody Road in Los Altos Hills, a working organic farm sits at the foot of Black Mountain.
The Duvenecks
Frank and Josephine Duveneck bought the then 1,400-acre property in 1923 for "$10 in gold coin and the payment of a $20,000 mortgage," according to Wikipedia. The ranch's White House dates to the 1860s, when it served as a stagecoach stop between San Jose and Pescadero. In 1933, Frank Duveneck founded the Sierra Club's Loma Prieta Chapter. The couple sheltered Japanese Americans returning from internment camps and gave César Chávez a safe place while he organized farmworkers.
Firsts
In 1937, the Duvenecks opened the West's first American youth hostel at Hidden Villa. The nation's first multicultural children's summer camp has run there since 1945. The Trust for Hidden Villa was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1960, and its environmental education program began in 1970.
Today
Hidden Villa says it is open to visitors. It runs a small organic farm and has offered educational programs for schoolchildren, teens and families for more than 50 years.