I was drawn to a star marking an “Indian School” in Guinda by Mapcarta. I knew the NCIA’s Indian school was near Guinda in the Capay Valley of Yolo County. This was the only map I had seen showing the school’s location.
In August 2024 I followed that star. I drove State Highway 16 to Guinda and turned onto Forest Avenue. It became a dirt road and then, where it connected with Road 53, the road was closed to vehicles. I parked the car, used the stile to climb over the gate, and walked. Where Road 53 split into three forks, the left and right were both signed as private property. The road to the right sported an impressive gate bearing the initials C-R. I continued walking down the road’s middle fork, the fences preventing any off-road investigation. Eyeballing the rolling land from the road, I saw no sign of the school.
Afterwards I found a C&R Ranch described online that is a likely match to the property on which the school stood. Charlotte and Roy Ekland bought their ranch, known as the “Paskenta Ranch,” in 2009. “The soil is unsuitable for tillage and crop production,” according to the site, and “grass production for grazing depends entirely upon the winter rains.” At the time the Eklands bought the ranch, it “suffered from overgrazing and significant erosion on the unprotected slopes.” The only improvements on the land, “a stock pond and a perimeter fence,” dated from the 1950s. If this is the correct property, it sounds like nothing of the school remains.
I continue to be amazed that Mapcarta acknowledged the school with a star.