The property that was to become The Land and later part of Montebello Preserve was originally homesteaded in the mid-19th century. By the early 1900s it had been purchased by Louis O'Neal, a prominent Republican politician. He planted the walnut orchard that still survives here, and built a large barn - the Long Hall - a home and a number of cabins in the area between the cache and Page Mill Road.
The property was sold to the Burns family in the 1950s. By the late 1950s, they had persuaded the city of Palo Alto to annex the area and run water lines up Page Mill Road, increasing the value of the property. In 1969, the Burns contracted to sell the land on installment payments to Donald Eldridge, a millionaire technologist. He apparently intended the purchase as an investment and did not live on or improve it. When off-road motorcyclists and four-wheelers began to trash the place, he invited two activist friends to move up the hill and take up residence as caretakers.
They were Joan Baez and David Harris, both to become famous, she as a folk singer and he as a draft resister. They in turn allowed further friends both to move into the established buildings and to create more informal cabins and shelters further away from Page Mill in the 'backlands'. There was no formal residence or governance. The residents would gather in the Long Hall for meals and reaching group consensus around living arrangements and other decisions. The resulting partially communal living arrangement came to be called 'The Land', one of a number of hippie or leftist communes that flourished along Skyline in the period. By the early 70s, there was a permanent population of about 50, which grew during the summer months.
The commune lasted for only a few years. Eldridge eventually defaulted on his payments to Burns, and title to the property was disputed in a messy court case. Meanwhile, the Mid-Peninsula Open Space District has been formed, and acquired Burns' rights to the property, with the understanding that the commune, who were legally squatters, would be removed. On October 20, 1977, sheriff's deputies evicted the remaining inhabitants, and most of the buildings, both historic and improvised, were demolished. The few remaining cabins were destroyed by an arsonist in the December of that year, and The Land passed into legend. You can read more of the history of The Land and its inhabitants here.