Rancho El Conejo was a Spanish land grant in California given in 1803 to Jose Polanco and Ygnacio Rodriguez that encompassed the area now known as the

Conejo Valley The Conejo Valley is a region spanning both southeastern Ventura County and northwestern Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States. It is located in the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Communities in the Conejo ...

in southeastern Ventura and northwestern

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Counties. ''El Conejo'' is

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for "The Rabbit", and refers to the many rabbits common to the region (the

desert cottontail The desert cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii''), also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae. Unlike the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus''), they do not form social burrow s ...

and

brush rabbit The brush rabbit (''Sylvilagus bachmani''), or western brush rabbit, or Californian brush rabbit, is a species of cottontail rabbit found in western coastal regions of North America, from the Columbia River in Oregon to the southern tip of the ...

species). The east-west grant boundaries approximately went from the border of Westlake Village near Lindero Canyon Road in the east to the Conejo Grade (the top of the hill along the 101 Freeway looking down into Camarillo) in the west. The north-south borders extended from the top of the

Simi Hills The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States. Geography The Simi Hills are aligned east-west and run for , and average arou ...

at the end of Moorpark Road in the north to Hidden Valley in the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains is a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. Because of its proximity to densely populated regions, it is one of the most visited natural areas in ...

in the south. The rancho is the site of the communities of Newbury Park,

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...

, and

Westlake Village Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vil ...

History

Former

Santa Barbara Presidio Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

soldiers Jose Polanco and Ygnacio Rodriquez were granted Rancho El Conejo in 1803. Polanco, eventually lost his land due to neglect. In 1822, influential Santa Barbara army officer

José de la Guerra y Noriega José Antonio de la Guerra y Noriega (March 6, 1779 – February 18, 1858) was a Californio military officer, ranchero, and founder of the prominent Guerra family of California. He served as the Commandant of the Presidio of Santa Barbara and the ...

was granted Polanco's claim by Spanish Governor

Pablo Vicente de Solá Pablo Vicente de Solá (1761–1826) was a Spanish officer and the twelfth and last Spanish colonial governor of Alta California (1815-1822). He was born in Mondragón, Gipuzkoa, Spain. Land grants Solá granted in 1821 the Rancho Rincón de los ...

. With the

cession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdictio ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

, the 1848

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 ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho El Conejo was filed with the

Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican la ...

in 1852, and the grant was

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

to José de la Guerra y Noriega and María del Carmen de Rodríguez in 1873. The property stayed in the de la Guerra families and Rodriguez until the 1860s, when after drought and disease decimated local cattle, the two families began selling off their land. In 1872, H. W. Mills purchased one-half of the Conejo grant from the heirs of Captain Jose de la Guerra, which he called the Triunfo Ranch. Mills went bankrupt and Andrew D. Russell purchased his Triunfo Ranch in 1881. In 1882, of the Newbury tract were sold. In 1910, Harold and Edwin Janss of the

Janss Investment Company The Janss Investment Company was a family-run, Los Angeles–based real estate development company that operated from 1895 to 1995. First generation The Janss Investment Company was founded by Peter Janss, an immigrant doctor from Denmark. Pet ...

purchased about of land of what is now Thousand Oaks from the heir of John Edwards,John Edwards
who had purchased the land from the de la Guerra heirs.

Historic sites of the Rancho

*De la Guerra built an adobe in Westlake that was later submerged by the Westlake dam. *De la Guerra Adobe Ruins (1860) are located at 4651 Tapo Canyon Road.

References

* Allen, Patricia, 1976, ''History of Rancho El Conejo'', Ventura County Historical Society Quarterly, Spring; Vol. XXI, No. 3, p. 2-97. * Bidwell, Carol A., 1989, ''The Conejo Valley : old and new frontiers'', Windsor Publications. * Russell, Joe., 1957, ''History of the Conejo Ranch'', Ventura County Historical Society Quarterly, Vol. II, No. 2, p. 12-19.

External links

Map of old Spanish and Mexican ranchos in Los Angeles County
{{California history Conejo, El El Conejo El Conejo Conejo Valley Santa Monica Mountains Simi Hills History of Thousand Oaks, California Newbury Park, California Westlake Village, California 1803 in Alta California 1803 establishments in Alta California

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References

External links