Rancho La Brea was a

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

in present-day

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

, given in 1828 to Antonio Jose Rocha and Nemisio Dominguez by

José Antonio Carrillo Captain José Antonio Ezequiel Carrillo (1796–1862) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and signer of the Californian Constitution in 1849. He served three terms as Alcalde of Los Angeles (mayor). History A member of the prominent Carrill ...

, the

alcalde of Los Angeles The mayor of Los Angeles is the chief executive of the Government of Los Angeles as set in the city charter. The current officeholder, the 43rd in the sequence of regular mayors, is Karen Bass, a member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...

. Rancho La Brea consisted of one square league of land of what is now Wilshire's Miracle Mile, Hollywood, and parts of

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...

. The grant included the famous La Brea Tar Pits.

History

The title awarded by the alcalde in 1828 was confirmed by

José María de Echeandía José María de Echeandía (?–1871) was twice Mexican governor of Alta California from 1825 to 1831 and again from 1832 to 1833. He was the only governor of California that lived in San Diego.José Bandini, in a note to Governor Echeandía or ...

, governor of

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 1840, it was reconfirmed by Governor Juan Alvarado. 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 after 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 ...

, 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 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 ...

, a claim was filed by Antonio José Rocha, José Jorge Rocha, and Josefa de la Merced de Jordan 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, but it was rejected in 1860. As a lawyer and surveyor,

Henry Hancock Henry Hancock (April 11, 1822January 9, 1883) was a Harvard trained lawyer and a land surveyor working in California in the 1850s. He was the owner of Rancho La Brea, which included the La Brea Tar Pits. Early life Henry Hancock was born in Ba ...

worked for the Rocha family to aid them with their efforts to prove their claim to Rancho La Brea. The Rochas finally won their claim (the grant was recorded as patented to "A. J. Rocha et al." in 1873). The grant included the famous La Brea Tar Pits. As happened to other rancheros, the claimants' legal expenses left them broke. In 1860, Antonio José Rocha's son, José Jorge Rocha, deeded Rancho La Brea to

. Hancock paid $20,000 for the Mexican grants (at $2 or $3 per acre) with his profits from the sale of gold he had found in a rich placer mine.
/ref> He engaged in the commercial development of the tar deposits on Rancho La Brea. He shipped considerable quantities to San Francisco by schooner. After Hancock's death in 1883, it was owned by his wife,

Ida Hancock Ross Ida Hancock Ross (born Ida Haraszthy; 1843 – March 15, 1913) was the owner of the Rancho La Brea in Los Angeles County, including the La Brea Tar Pits. When she died, she was one of the richest women in California. Ross was born in Imperial, ...

. Most of Rancho La Brea was later subdivided and developed by his surviving son, Captain

George Allan Hancock George Allan Hancock (July 26, 1875 – May 31, 1965) was the owner of the Rancho La Brea Oil Company. He inherited Rancho La Brea, including the La Brea Tar Pits which he donated to Los Angeles County. He also developed Hancock Park, Los Angeles ...

. He owned the Rancho La Brea Oil Company and donated of Hancock Park to Los Angeles County in 1924 to preserve and exhibit the fossils exhumed from Rancho La Brea. The La Brea Tar Pits within the Park are a now registered

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

. Arthur Gilmore bought some of the Rancho land in the 1890s and started a dairy farm. Drilling for water, he struck oil. This find was named the

Salt Lake Oil Field The Salt Lake Oil Field is an oil field underneath the city of Los Angeles, California. Discovered in 1902, and developed quickly in the following years, the Salt Lake field was once the most productive in California; over 50 million barrels of o ...

after the company that drilled for him. Arthur's son, Earl Gilmore, built

Gilmore Stadium Gilmore Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Los Angeles, California. It was opened in May 1934 and demolished in 1952, when the land was used to build CBS Television City. The stadium held 18,000. It was located next to Gilmore Field. The st ...

next to

Gilmore Field Gilmore Field was a minor league baseball park in Los Angeles, California, that served as home to the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League from 1939–57 when they, along with their intra-city rivals, the Los Angeles Angels, were displa ...

References

External links

Map of old Spanish and Mexican ranchos in Los Angeles County
{{Authority control Brea, La La Brea La Brea Tar Pits History of Hollywood, Los Angeles Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles West Hollywood, California 19th century in Los Angeles National Natural Landmarks in California

History

See also

References

External links