PrintTopo Ranch
EnlargeA survivor of the Donner Party tragedy, Patrick Breen went on to purchase Topo Ranch just east of King City, California, in 1860. Named after the populous ground squirrels, or topo in the local Spanish slang, the ranch consisted of 24,000 acres of some of the finest cattle country in the state. But by the 1920s drought and low cattle prices had taken their toll, and the ranch was lost to foreclosure. Four generations later, Breen’s great-great-grandson Alex Kump cofounded the Topo Ranch brand with longtime friend Eric Hartnack as a tribute to Kump’s family history. “I’ve always been driven by the pioneering spirit of my ancestors,” Kump says, but now he’s adding his own contemporary vibe. The organic cotton women’s windmill T-shirt was inspired by an old photo found on the ranch ($36), while the men’s fly-fishing shirt is a nod to the ranch hands who often skipped chores to fish the San Benito River ($36). Visit Topo Ranch online or check out its retail stores in Venice, California, and Boulder, Colorado.
• Info: 310.822.0904, www.toporanch.com
Issue: March 2010
