By admin 
A San Luis Obispo County ranch that spans nearly 15,000 acres has a rich history that includes bandits and a family feud.
Read more Fantasy 5 players win more than $230,000 in California. See where tickets sold
For a time, La Panza Ranch in Santa Margarita served as the hiding place of one of the most infamous outlaws in the Wild West.
The massive property includes a mansion-sized hacienda, cattle and an olive grove bordering Los Padres National Forest.
In recent years, international cheese mongers and luxury real estate tycoons have controlled the ranch, public records show.
Learn about the history of La Panza Ranch and its owners:
SLO County ranch has links to city co-founder, Jesse James
One of the founders of the city of El Paso de Robles, Drury Woodson James, owned La Panza Ranch in the 1860s, The Tribune previously reported.
A prominent figure in SLO County business and politics, he first visited Paso Robles while moving cattle from the Santa Clara Valley to supply gold miners with meat.
In addition to helping found a bank and a flour mill, James built the El Paso de Robles Hotel, later rebuilt as the Paso Robles Inn. He also held several public offices, serving as a district supervisor, school trustee and state assemblyman.
In 1868, James’ nephews Jesse and Frank James came to stay with him.
Jesse and Frank James had joined a guerilla band in Missouri amid “very ugly border clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions” during and after the Civil War, the Paso Robles Historical Society said.
During the Reconstruction era, the James-Younger Gang embarked on a crime spree, robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches.
“Hard riding, shooting and killing became a way of life for the James’ brothers,” the historical society said.
After a bank robbery in Kentucky in 1868, the James brothers headed to SLO County. Jesse James, who was recovering from a gunshot wound, bathed in the sulfur hot springs at his uncle’s hotel.
The brothers lived and worked at the ranch for a year, occasionally heading into town to attend dances.
What is La Panza Ranch in Santa Margarita?
The 14,750-acre ranch at 5909 East Pozo Rd in Santa Margarita now features an olive grove and mill, sulfur springs and cattle pastures.
According to an 2022 auction listing, La Panza Ranch includes a 5,5000 square-foot main residence with 10 bedrooms and seven bathrooms.
Other structures on the property include two additional houses, two offices and hay barns.
Who owns La Panza Ranch? Family launches dispute
Mike Leprino, Jr., and his daughters purchased La Panza Ranch in 2003 from Robert Petersen, Mansion Global said in 2020.
The deed was transferred to Leprino from Petersen Properties, SLO County records show.
According to Colorado Secretary of State records, a limited liability company — La Panza Ranch, LLC — was filed in December 2003 by Nancy Leprino, one of Leprino’s daughters.
In January 2004, Mike Leprino, Jr., transferred the La Panza Ranch deed to the Colorado company, county records show.
At the time Leprino and his brother, James Leprino, were shareholders cheese manufacturer Leprino Foods of Colorado. La Panza Ranch LLC and Leprino Foods used the same address in Colorado.
Read more How ‘kidfluencer’ from Central Coast earned a chance to interview rodeo’s top stars
Mike Leprino, Jr., transferred his Leprino Foods shares to his daughters before his death in 2018, The Denver Post reported.
That year, La Panza Ranch was listed for sale for $43 million, according to Mansion Global, a real estate news outlet, but was not sold.
Nancy Leprino and her sister, Mary, sued Leprino Foods in 2020, claiming that their father was wrongfully pushed off the Colorado company’s board in 2014.
They alleged that the board cut Mike and Nancy Leprino out of company decision-making.
Nancy Leprino put the ranch back on the market for a decreased price of $38 million shortly after the lawsuit was filed in 2020.
Colorado real estate firm Hall and Hall, auctioned off La Panza Ranch in April 2022.
That July, a Colorado jury sided with Leprino Foods in the lawsuit filed by the Leprino sisters, according to Yahoo! News.
The ranch was eventually sold the same year at an undisclosed price.
Nancy Leprino sued Leprino Foods again in March 2026, claiming that her sisters Laurie and Mary sold their shares in the company to the majority shareholder at a 75% discount, according to The Denver Post.
Rather than take a “lowball offer,” Nancy Leprino alleged, she tried to sell her shares to a third party — only to have Leprino Foods block the sale due to a company clause.
Leprino asked a Denver judge to either force Leprino Foods to pay out her share’s profits, buy her out at a “fair price,” get a court-appointed receiver or dissolve the company, The Denver Post reported.
As of Friday, Sept. 11, the latest lawsuit filed by Leprino had yet to be resolved.
Who owns La Panza Ranch now?
La Panza Ranch Resort LLC initially filed as a stock corporation with California on April 20, 2022, California Secretary of State records show. A Vancouver, British Columbia, address was listed for the entity.
The limited liability corporation bought La Panza Ranch in Santa Margarita for an undisclosed price and the deed was transferred to the Canadian company in May 2022, according to SLO County records.
Based on the transfer tax listed on the deed, which totaled $22,440, the ranch likely sold for at least $20 million, assuming no mortgages or liens were on the property.
The corporation shares an address with a Canadian real estate firm, Pinnacle International Management.
According to the British Columbia Financial Services Authority, Pinnacle International Management is a brokerage licensed for managing properties and trading.
La Panza Ranch is currently controlled by an unlisted owner but continues to use the Vancouver address, according to land use maps from the San Luis Obispo County Assessor.
La Panza Ranch is listed as a rental property for filmmakers on Giggster for $300 per hour.
This story was originally published September 15, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “Massive SLO County ranch has ties to Jesse James, Paso Robles history. Learn more.”
Read more 43-year-old Folsom State Prison inmate dies after being found unresponsive