A Colorado woman is adopting the nickname ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ after she fought with her small town to fence off a beach that was next to her land and attracted countless visitors.
Taralyn Romero, 43, bought a house next to Kittredge Park in the town of Kittredge, Colorado.
The land totaled 0.68 acres and had a stream running through its yard, a big part of the charm for Romero.
His family loved it, but he hated the dozens of people, including children, who showed up at the creek every day. The public had been using the land for decades, not knowing it was privately owned.
“For a long time, the community really had the narrative that I was an evil witch who hates children and wants them off her property,” Romero said.
Taralyn Romero, 43, bought a house next to Kittredge Park in the Colorado town of Kittredge and banned locals from using it.
The land totaled 0.68 acres and had a stream running through its yard, a big part of the charm for Romero. His family loved it, but he hated the dozens of people, including children, who showed up at the creek every day.
“For a long time, the community really had the narrative that I was an evil witch who hates children and wants them off her property,” Romero said.
She admitted that she wears the nickname proudly and even uses it as her tiktok accountwhere he advocates for property rights.
The people he bought the property from had a silent agreement to let whoever wanted to use the creek hang out, to the point that most assumed it was part of Kittredge Park.
The land officially belongs to Romero and her fiancé, according to studies carried out on the property.
‘We have 55 people with families, dogs, tents, coolers, grills, umbrellas, towels and six-packs. It had become a water park,” he said.
Romero said she was often treated cruelly online and in person for protecting what was legally hers.
“When that kind of dissension arises about whose land it is and children are involved and the rhetoric of a screaming woman is involved, it really was like wildfire on social media,” he said. CBS News.
It became so ridiculous that the haters started committing vandalism in the name of wanting to use the land.
‘They were incredibly abusive to me verbally and abusive to the land. Sometimes they took out metal shovels and literally destroyed the bank of the stream, broke trees, left garbage,’ Romero said.
He admitted that he uses the nickname with pride and even uses it as his TikTok account, where he advocates for property rights.
The people he bought the property from had a silent agreement to let whoever wanted to use the creek hang out, to the point that most assumed it was part of Kittredge Park.
Romero said she was often treated cruelly online and in person for protecting what was legally hers.
She herself decided to place barriers around the land to prevent guests from using the stream.
”Even if it’s their land, take it away’ and they did it, well they tried,” he explained.
Jefferson County, where Kittredge and the land are located, decided to take Romero to court.
They attempted to cite the long history of public land use and practices known as ‘adverse possession’ laws to take the land from Romero.
Romero used her TikTok ‘Real Wicked Witch of the West’ to rally support from sympathetic people.
“They wrote to the commissioners, made phone calls and really stood with me in the battle to keep my property,” Romero said.
Romero reached an agreement with the county in May 2023 and a fence was built to officially demarcate where his land ended. She gave a small portion to the county in exchange for a payment of $250,000.
“Even though I was ready to go to the Supreme Court, I had to weigh my family life, I had to weigh financial difficulties,” Romero said.
Romero used his TikTok ‘Real Wicked Witch of the West’ to rally support from sympathizers
Romero reached an agreement with the county in May 2023 and a fence was built to officially demarcate where his land ended.
The fence now keeps people off Romero’s land and allows others to continue using the creek.
“At the end of the day, I said, ‘You know what? Let’s split this baby up.'”
The fence was built in January and the land outside the fence is now managed by the local parks department.
He said a teenager tried to jump the fence recently, but the barrier calmed the dispute.
“Hopefully that’s the last of it. But unfortunately, I think we’re going to have another summer where people are going to try to push the boundaries and get provoked by a fence,” Romero said.
His next step is a lawsuit against the people he bought the house from for not disclosing the story. His judicial mediation is scheduled for the end of this month.
“Yes, I’m willing to put it behind me, but not before seeking some accountability in court for the people who sold me my house,” Romero said.
