These orange trees were planted by early Cupertino resident Louis Stocklmeir on what was once his property. The land sits just west of the Blue Pheasant Restaurant parking lot and nestles up against the Blackberry Farm golf course. It's only accessible by a hidden driveway off of Stevens Creek Boulevard.

While the oranges Stocklmeir once planted now freely fall from trees with no one to pick them up, Austin and the rest of the Cupertino Historical Society would like to see that change. They're working on plans to refurbish the Stocklmeir property into a "living history" center, where Cupertino residents can experience their city as it used to be.

But there's the matter of finances and other hurdles to overcome. While nearby residents support the project so far, the center's plans are constantly evolving due to ongoing brainstorming and unsettled finances.

A recent fundraising study showed that the historical society could raise $1 million for the project, but current estimates are that the project will cost some $4 million.

For Austin and others, standing in the rain-soaked meadows and groves of the Stocklmeir property drives home how important preserving this piece of Cupertino history is. "This is how the valley looked; this is how it smelled when I was a kid," Austin says. "These are 3¹/2 acres that nobody knows about. I want to share it with the public."

The property now holds Stocklmeir's old family home and the one remaining orange grove from a patch of orchards, next to a tract of 1970s houses.

Louis Stocklmeir, who was the first president of the Cupertino Historical Society and was once named the historian of Cupertino, moved onto the property as an 8-year-old in 1900. He earned a degree in civil engineering at Stanford University and worked his entire life in that field, but he always returned to his original home in Cupertino.

In documents held by the Cupertino Historical Society, Stocklmeir mentioned how he used to fish in Stevens Creek, which runs along the eastern edge of the property. He also said stagecoaches used the area near what became his driveway to cross the creek, and one night, an infamous bandit named Vasquez spent the night on the property after holding up a number of inns in the East Bay.

Stocklmeir named his driveway Vasquez Way in tribute and wrote that many people tried to find the $30,000 booty that Vasquez supposedly left behind.

These days, that driveway is shaded with vegetation and difficult to find along the busy thoroughfare. An old mailbox still carries Stocklmeir's street address--22120 Stevens Creek Blvd.--and the front yard is laid out with bricks that Austin says Stocklmeir installed himself. Stone lions' heads mark the entrance as well. He and his brother planted the orange trees in the 1980s, and not long after, Stocklmeir died.

The house and a segment of the property remained with the family until 1998, when Stocklmeir's wife, Gladys, died. The city of Cupertino bought the property for $6 million and rented out the house for a time until the septic system broke down.

Since then, the house has sat empty. City plans, including the installation of another road to ease access to nearby McClellan Ranch and construction of two more golf holes on the Blackberry Farm course, were not well-received by neighbors.

Austin says Stocklmeir planted his orange grove so well that the trees still produce fruit, even though they've not been professionally cared for in years. She adds that members of the public occasionally walk through to pick the fruit, but the house is marked with a "Private Property" sign and sits boarded up and untouched.

On Feb. 2, 2004, the fate of the Stocklmeir property entered the public consciousness again. At the city council meeting that night, the historical society's then-executive director, Christine Jeffers, spoke to the council about the possibility of turning the Stocklmeir house into a center for living history. She painted a picture of a museum-type place where visitors could cut apricots, play on old farm equipment and see the Stocklmeir house restored to its former grandeur.

Austin says the Cupertino Historical Society has looked to Los Altos for inspiration--the historical society there turned a farmhouse belonging to former resident Gilbert Smith into part of the city's history museum complex. The house was restored and stocked with furniture and appliances that recalled the house's 1930s heyday.

"We're all going to be history someday," Austin says. "The house is not architecturally significant. It's just a ranch house. But we can stock it with things like an old washing machine with rollers and an icebox. There are plenty of things like that that kids today haven't experienced."

The center would also include taking care of the orange groves to give visitors an idea of what Cupertino looked like when it was filled with orchards.

Other ideas include bringing an old blacksmith's shop over to the Stocklmeir property from McClellan Ranch Park and farm equipment over from the Snider-Hammond house on the outskirts of Cupertino--the house, Austin says, is the oldest standing home in the city.

Many of Stocklmeir's belongings are still in the area. His library is housed at the California History Center on the De Anza College campus, and some of his grandchildren still live in Cupertino. "His grandchildren have objects of his and remember how it looked inside," says Anne Lehmer, the historical society's new executive director.

The second part of the plan involves the center's potential uses. One idea involves the installation of a classroom, which would enable the center to host touring children from nearby schools. Third-graders in the Cupertino Union School District study California history, and the district has expressed interest in using the center for those students. Lehmer says she hopes the classroom would be multi-functional.

"I can see De Anza students doing research there," she says. "I want to see children of all grades."

And when it comes to helping keep up this potential project, Austin says there are a couple of moneymakers in mind. One is to make the center available for rent, for events like weddings and barbecues. Another idea is to open a tea room or fruit stand that could sell concessions. "We could set it up in a way that resembles the old general store," Lehmer says.

With all the excitement within the society that has surrounded discussions about the center, there's still the first big hurdle: the cost of building the center and restoring the Stocklmeir property. When Jeffers appeared before the city council last year, she asked for permission to conduct a fundraising feasibility survey. The land is still city property.

Councilman Richard Lowenthal recalls that the council gave permission to the historical society to conduct the survey. "Should the historical society raise the money, they'll get a long-term lease," Lowenthal says.

Jeffers worked on the study before she left the society in January of this year. The study surveyed potential donors for the center and concluded that the society could raise $1 million for the project. "Now they're analyzing what $1 million could do," Lowenthal says.

He says it would likely take $250,000 to make the Stocklmeir house self-sufficient again--but maybe not ready to host visitors as a museum. Austin says Cupertino Parks and Recreation Director Therese Smith found a company that would build a solid structure inside the barn for about $150,000.

But as the costs add up, so do the options. Lehmer says cultivating individual sponsors and corporate donations could help. She also says she sees a lot of potential within the city of Cupertino. "We have enormous resources in town," she says. "We'll be working with students at De Anza, which is a win-win situation, and it makes us more likely to receive a grant."

Austin says what may end up happening is the completion of several projects at a time. "As soon as we kick it off and we can get one donor, we can start fixing it up. And then we could have a dinner there so people could see what they could be a part of," Austin says.

Those benefits could possibly feature neighbors from nearby developments, one of which features a road named for Stocklmeir himself. Joe Cleaver is head of the homeowner's association for The Meadows of Cupertino, the housing development that directly abuts the Stocklmeir property to the east. He says the neighbors like the idea, even though wrought-iron gates separate the two areas.

"I really like the idea of retaining the history," Cleaver says. "Richard Lowenthal and Jim Walker came over to talk to us and explained the ideas, and those ideas are very positive."

Cleaver says the association is concerned, however, that once the center opens up for social events, noise and parking problems could arise.

Residents of The Meadows were recently involved with the city's decision to place the Stevens Creek trail near their development. The approved trail will take a route through the Stocklmeir orange groves and stay 100 feet away from the neighbors' property line, as the residents requested. It will also consist of a granular substance, which will cut down on the skateboarding and rollerblading activities that had concerned Cleaver and his fellow residents.

"The trail needs to be 100 feet away from the homes, but it needs to be far from the creek, so it's probably going to go down the middle of the Stocklmeir orange grove," Lowenthal says. "Having the trail going through the property will be a good thing for the center."

Lehmer points out that the exact position of the trail has not yet been decided. She says based on consultations the historical society has had with orchardists, a path through the orchard would compromise the health of the trees.

That trail process has convinced Cleaver that ironing out the wrinkles of a potential center next door will go smoothly. "Some of us have even discussed joining the historical society so we can be able to help in the process," he says. "The whole sector is so beautiful and natural."

Stocklmeir's granddaughter Janet Trankle happens to live in a home in The Meadows as well.

Even with a potentially rocky road ahead, the enthusiasm for this project has infected practically everyone who's come into contact with it. "It's important to preserve what is left of old Cupertino, and I just hope we can do it in a friendly way," Lowenthal says.

Austin looks almost dreamy eyed as she walks through the Stocklmeir property, envisioning what might be. "This is our last little piece of heaven," she says.

For information on the Stocklmeir property, call the Cupertino Historical Society at 408.973.1495. The society's museum is located at 10185 N. Stelling Road.