Pío Pico
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Don Pío de Jesús Pico (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of California (present-day U.S. state of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
) under Mexican rule. A member of the prominent
Pico family of California The Pico family is a prominent Californio family of Southern California. Members of the family held extensive rancho grants and numerous important positions, including Governor of Alta California, signer of the Constitution of California, and ...
, he was one of the wealthiest men in California at the time and a hugely influential figure in Californian society. His legacy can be seen in the numerous places named after him, such as the city of
Pico Rivera Pico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. The city is situated approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as th ...
,
Pico Boulevard Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribeir ...
in Los Angeles,
Pio Pico State Historic Park Pio may refer to: Places * Pio Lake, Italy * Pio Island, Solomon Islands * Pio Point, Bird Island, south Atlantic Ocean People * Pio (given name) * Pio (surname) * Pio (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer * Pio (footballer, born 1988), B ...
, and the numerous schools that bear his name.


Early years

Pico, a member of the prominent
Pico family of California The Pico family is a prominent Californio family of Southern California. Members of the family held extensive rancho grants and numerous important positions, including Governor of Alta California, signer of the Constitution of California, and ...
, was born at
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Mission San Gabriel Arcángel ( es, Misión de San Gabriel Arcángel) is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September ...
to
José María Pico José Darío María Pico (1764 in San Xavier de Cavazan ( Sonora, Baja California, New Spain) – 1819 in San Gabriel, Alta California, New Spain) was member of the Pico family of California, an important Californio family to Southern Cali ...
and his wife María Eustaquia Gutiérrez, with the aid of midwife
Eulalia Pérez de Guillén Mariné Eulalia Pérez de Guillén Mariné (1766? – June 11, 1878) was a Californio who was '' mayordoma'' of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and grantee of Rancho del Rincón de San Pascual in the San Rafael Hills, in present-day Los Angeles County, ...
. His paternal grandmother, María Jacinta de la Bastida, was listed in the 1790 census as ''
mulata (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese ...
'', meaning
mixed race Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
with African ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Santiago de la Cruz Pico, was described as a
Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
(Native American-Spanish) in the same census. Santiago de la Cruz Pico was one of the soldiers who accompanied
Juan Bautista de Anza Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was an expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as one of the founding fa ...
on the expedition that left
Tubac, Arizona Tubac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States. The population was 1,191 at the 2010 census. The place name "Tubac" is an English borrowing from a Hispanicized form of the O'odham name ''Cuwak'', which ...
for California in 1775 to explore the region and colonize it. Pio Pico and his siblings were thus of African, Native American and Spanish ancestry.


Marriage and family

After the death of his father in 1819, Pico settled in San Diego, California. A
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, he married María Ignacia Alvarado at
La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles ''La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles'' (English: "The Church of Our Lady Queen of the Angels") is a historic Catholic church in El Pueblo de los Ángeles Historical Monument in northern downtown Los Angeles, California. The ch ...
on February 24, 1834. His younger brother was General Andrés Pico.


Politics

Pico twice served as Governor of Alta California, taking office the first time from
Manuel Victoria Manuel Victoria (died 1833) was governor of the Mexican-ruled territory of Alta California from January 1831 to December 6, 1831. He died in exile. He was appointed governor on March 8, 1830 by Lucas Alamán. Exile The revolt, called Battle of ...
in 1832, when Victoria was deposed for refusing to follow through with orders to secularize the mission properties. As governor ''pro tem'' and "Vocal" of the Departmental Assembly, Pico began secularization. After 20 days in office, he abdicated in favor of
Zamorano The Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School ( es, link=no, Escuela Agrícola Panamericana Zamorano), generally known as ''El Zamorano'' or ''Zamorano'', is a private, coeducational university located in the valley of the Yeguare river, Hond ...
and Echeandía, who governed the north and south, respectively, until
José Figueroa José Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835), was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. He wrote the first book to be published in California. Background and governorship Figueroa was a Mestizo of Spanish a ...
reunified the governorship in 1833. Pico ran for office in 1834 as the first ''
alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...
'' (magistrate) of San Diego after secularization of the mission but was defeated. He challenged Governor
Juan Bautista Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) was a Californio politician that served as Governor of Alta California from 1837-42. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independe ...
(1836-1842) on political issues and was imprisoned on several occasions. In 1844 he was chosen as a leader of the California Assembly. In 1845, he was again appointed governor, succeeding the unpopular Manuel Micheltorena. This occurred because, in late 1844, the Mexican province of California staged a revolt against the mother country. Micheltorena had been sent to California from Mexico, along with an army that had been recruited out of Mexico’s worst jails. He had no money to feed his army, which then spread out to people’s homes and farms “like a plague of locusts, stripping the countryside bare.” This enraged the Californians and led to widespread hatred of Micheltorena. Women were not considered safe from the depredations of Micheltorena’s army.Lyman and Marsh 1931, pp. 250–52.Stone, Irving. ''Men to Match My Mountains,'' pp 68-72, Berkley Books, New York, New York, 1982. .Winkley, John W. ''Dr. John Marsh, Wilderness Scout,'' pp 66-69, The Parthenon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, 1962.Stone, Irving. ''From Mud-Flat Cove to Gold to Statehood,'' pp 66-68, Word Dancer Press, Clovis, California, 1999. .
Juan Bautista Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) was a Californio politician that served as Governor of Alta California from 1837-42. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independe ...
, the governor who had been forcibly replaced by Micheltorena, organized a rebellion against Micheltorena. Upon learning of the impending revolt, Micheltorena appointed
John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Swiss immigrant of Mexican and American citizenship, known for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area th ...
to lead troops in opposition. Sutter came to
John Marsh John Marsh may refer to: Politicians * John Marsh (MP fl. 1394–1397), MP for Bath * John Marsh (MP fl. 1414–1421), MP for Bath *John Allmond Marsh (1894–1952), Canadian Member of Parliament * John Otho Marsh Jr. (1926–2019), American c ...
, who had one of the largest ranchos in California, hoping he would join. Marsh wanted no part of it, but Sutter forced him to join his army against his will. The two forces met in Cahuenga Pass, near Los Angeles, and fought the Battle of Providencia (also known as the Second Battle of Cahuenga Pass), which consisted primarily of an artillery duel. On the long march to the battle Marsh had taken every opportunity to dissuade the other soldiers from Micheltorena’s cause. Ignoring Sutter,
Marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
seized an opportunity in the battle to signal the other side for a parley. Many of the soldiers on each side were immigrants from the United States. Marsh convinced them that they had no reason to be fighting each other. At Marsh’s urging, these soldiers on both sides united, abandoned Micheltorena’s cause, and even captured Sutter. Micheltorena was defeated, and California-born Pio Pico was returned to the governorship. Pico made Los Angeles the province's capital. In the year leading up to the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
, Governor Pico was outspoken in favor of California's becoming a British Protectorate rather than a U.S. territory. When U.S. troops occupied Los Angeles and San Diego in 1846 during the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...
, Pico fled to
Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, Mexico, to argue before the Mexican Congress for sending troops to defend Alta California. Pico did not return to Los Angeles until after the signing of the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...
, and he reluctantly accepted the transfer of sovereignty. Automatically granted United States citizenship, he was elected to the
Los Angeles Common Council The Los Angeles Common Council was the predecessor of the Los Angeles, California, City Council. It was formed in 1850 under state law, when the city had only 1,610 residents, and it existed until 1889, when the city had about 50,400 residents and ...
in 1853, but he did not assume office.


Business life

John Bidwell John Bidwell (August 5, 1819 – April 4, 1900), known in Spanish as Don Juan Bidwell, was a Californian pioneer, politician, and soldier. Bidwell is known as the founder the city of Chico, California. Born in New York, he emigrated at the age of ...
, an early California settler, mentioned Pico among the people he knew:
Los Angeles I first saw in March 1845. It then had probably 250 people, of whom I recall Don
Abel Stearns Abel Stearns (February 9, 1798 – August 23, 1871) was an American trader who came to the Pueblo de Los Angeles, Alta California in 1829 and became a major landowner and cattle rancher and one of the area's wealthiest citizens. Early life Stear ...
, John Temple, Captain Alexander Bell,
William Wolfskill William Wolfskill (1798–1866) was an American-Mexican pioneer, cowboy, and agronomist in Los Angeles, California beginning in the 1830s. He had earned money for land in a decade as a fur trapper near Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had become a ...
,
Lemuel Carpenter Lemuel Carpenter (c. 1808 in Kentucky – November 5, 1859 in California) was one of the first Anglo-American settlers of what is now the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. Early life Lemuel Carpenter was born c. 1808 in Kentucky. He ...
, David W. Alexander; also of Mexicans, Pio Pico (governor), Don
Juan Bandini Juan Bandini (1800 – November 4, 1859) was a Peruvian-born Californio public figure, politician, and ranchero. He is best known for his role in the development of San Diego in the mid-19th century. Early history Bandini was born in 1800 in Lima ...
, and others.
By the 1850s Pico was one of the richest men in
Alta California Alta California ('Upper California'), also known as ('New California') among other names, was a province of New Spain, formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but ...
. In 1850 he purchased the
Rancho Paso de Bartolo Rancho Paso de Bartolo also called Rancho Paso de Bartolo Viejo was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given in 1835 by Governor Jose Figueroa to Juan Crispin Perez. The name refers to a San Gabriel River ford ...
, which included half of present-day Whittier. Two years later, he built a home on the ranch and lived there until 1892. It is preserved today as
Pio Pico State Historic Park Pio may refer to: Places * Pio Lake, Italy * Pio Island, Solomon Islands * Pio Point, Bird Island, south Atlantic Ocean People * Pio (given name) * Pio (surname) * Pio (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer * Pio (footballer, born 1988), B ...
. Pico also owned the former
Mission San Fernando Rey de España Mission San Fernando Rey de España is a Spanish mission in the Mission Hills community of Los Angeles, California. The mission was founded on 8 September 1797 at the site of Achooykomenga, and was the seventeenth of the twenty-one Spanish mis ...
,
Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores was a Mexican land grant in present-day northwestern San Diego County, California given by governor Juan Alvarado in 1841 to Andrés Pico and Pio Pico. The grant was located along the Pacific coast, and enc ...
(now part of
Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton is the major West Coast base of the United States Marine Corps and is one of the largest Marine Corps bases in the United States. It is on the Southern California coast in San Diego County and is bordered by Oc ...
), and several other ranchos for a total of over . In 1868, he constructed the three-story, 33-room hotel,
Pico House The Pico House is a historic building in Los Angeles, California, dating from its days as a small town in Southern California. Located on 430 North Main Street, it sits across the old Los Angeles Plaza from Olvera Street and El Pueblo de Los Á ...
(Casa de Pico) on the old plaza of Los Angeles, opposite today's
Olvera Street Olvera Street (also ''Calle Olvera'' or ''Placita Olvera'', originally Calle de los Vignes, Vine Street, and Wine Street) is a historic street in downtown Los Angeles, and a part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historic Monument, the area immediate ...
. At the time of its opening in 1869, it was the most lavish hotel in Southern California. Even before 1900, however, both the hotel and the surrounding neighborhood had begun to decline, as the business center moved farther south. After decades as a shabby flophouse, the hotel was deeded to the State of California in 1953. It is now a part of El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Monument. It is used on occasion for exhibits and special events.


Later life

Following the American annexation of California, Pico dedicated himself to his businesses. He survived the American conquest of California, becoming one of the wealthiest California cattlemen, controlling more than a quarter million acres. He defended his position and fortune in over 100 legal cases, including 20 that were argued before the California Supreme Court. However,
gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
, losses to
loan sharks A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...
, bad business practices, being a victim of fraud, and the flood of 1883 ruined him financially. For example, in 1893, Pico made an arrangement with Bernard Cohn in which Cohn paid Pico more than $60,000 in exchange for a deed to Pico's property in Los Angeles and elsewhere in the county. Pico sued Cohn, but lost on appeal. The decision, ''Pico v. Cohn'' (1891) 91 Cal. 129, 133-134, is classically cited by California
appellate courts A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...
in cases having to do with the setting aside of a judgment in case of fraud.For example, see Justia U.S. Law
"Kachig v. Boothe"
Retrieved October 4, 2017.
Pico was forced to liquidate his real estate holdings and his final years were spent in near poverty. In 1893, a committee of local boosters and history enthusiasts asked him to appear at the Chicago
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...
as "the last of the California "dons". Pico refused, considering it an affront to his dignity. He died in 1894 at the home of his daughter, Joaquina Pico Moreno, in Los Angeles. He was buried in the old Calvary Cemetery on North Broadway in
Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
, but his remains, as well as those of his wife, were relocated in 1921 to a modest tomb in El Campo Santo Cemetery, now in the Homestead Museum in the
City of Industry City of Industry is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is almost entirely industrial, containing over 3,000 businesses employing 67,000 people, with only 264 residents as of t ...
. Pico held three different nationalities during his lifetime. He was born a Spaniard in
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
, became a Mexican citizen as a young man, and finally a United States citizen. He was known for his extravagant lifestyle, with fine clothes, expensive furnishings, and heavy gambling.


Legacy

In 1927, Pío Pico State Historic Park was created from the ruins of his ''Rancho de Bartolo (El Ranchito)'' in Whittier, and Casa Pico mansion.
Pico Boulevard Pico may refer to: Places The Moon * Mons Pico, a lunar mountain in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium basin Portugal * Pico, a civil parish in the municipality of Vila Verde * Pico da Pedra, a civil parish in the municipality of Ribeir ...
, a major east–west thoroughfare in Los Angeles, is named for him. An elementary and middle school in Los Angeles' Mid-City district is also named in his honor.
Pico Rivera Pico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California. The city is situated approximately southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as th ...
, a city located in southeastern
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
, is named for the last Mexican governor. In 2010, scientists published an article about Pio Pico asserting that he showed signs of acromegaly, a disease not characterized until later in the nineteenth century. Open Access; https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11102-008-0127-1


See also

*
Pio Pico State Historic Park Pio may refer to: Places * Pio Lake, Italy * Pio Island, Solomon Islands * Pio Point, Bird Island, south Atlantic Ocean People * Pio (given name) * Pio (surname) * Pio (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer * Pio (footballer, born 1988), B ...
* Andrés Pico


References


Further reading

*


External links


Biography from the San Diego Historical Society
excerpted from Smythe's ''History of San Diego'' (1907)
"What made Pio Pico so, well, ugly?"
- ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
''
"Pio Pico"
- '' Whittier Museum''
"The Life and Times of Pío Pico, Last Governor of Mexican California"
- '' KCET'' *
Pío Pico papers, 1845-1846
at
The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...
* ,
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pico, Pio 1801 births 1894 deaths 19th century in Los Angeles 19th-century Mexican people 19th-century Roman Catholics Californios Ranchers from California Governors of Mexican California Hispanic and Latino American politicians History of Los Angeles Land owners from California Mexican people of Italian descent Mexican people of the Bear Flag Revolt Mexican people of the Mexican–American War Mexican Roman Catholics People of the Conquest of California People of Mexican California People from San Gabriel, California People with acromegaly Catholics from California 19th-century American businesspeople Afro-Mexican Mexican people of African descent Spanish people of African descent African-American Catholics Mexican-American people in California politics