Rancho Los Alamitos takes its name from an 1834

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

partition of the 1784 Rancho Los Nietos, a Spanish concession, covering an area in present-day

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

's southwestern

Los Angeles County 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, ...

and northwestern Orange County. Los Alamitos means the Little Cottonwoods or Poplars in

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 ...

, after the

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

Fremont Cottonwood trees there. Rancho Los Alamitos originally included much of the area of present-day eastern

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

, all of Los Alamitos and Rossmoor, and most of Seal Beach,

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the l ...

, Stanton and Garden Grove. It is also sometimes referred to as Bixby Ranch, after its last private owners. The early 19th century adobe ranch house still stands today, housing a museum which presents the history of the area.

History

The history of the Rancho Los Alamitos is almost a microcosm for the history of expansion throughout

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

, from the Native Americana cultures to contemporary times. The area was first the location of the major circa 500 C.E. - 1780s Tongva — Gabrieliño sacred ceremonial and trading village of Povuu'nga, now an archeological site. After Spanish occupation the ownership was to change and the boundaries would shrink many times. Situated in the

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

between the mouths of the ever-shifting

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 ...

, San Gabriel and

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting throug ...

s, the

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Co ...

terrain of the rancho is virtually flat rich soil, and was subject to frequent flooding. The rancho building itself is located near

Puvunga Puvunga (alternate spellings: Puvungna or Povuu'nga) is an ancient village and sacred site of the Tongva nation, the Indigenous people of the Los Angeles Basin, and the Acjachemen, the Indigenous people of Orange County now located at California ...

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

s alongside on one of the few small hills, Alamitos Mesa, in the area. The Big Figs (133107707)

Rancho Los Alamitos was one of five ranchos that resulted from the partition of the original Rancho Los Nietos grant given to Manuel Nieto, a former sergeant in the Spanish army, in 1784 by governor

Pedro Fages Pedro Fages (1734–1794) was a Spanish soldier, explorer, first Lieutenant Governor of the Californias under Gaspar de Portolá. Fages claimed the governorship after Portolá's death, acting as governor in opposition to the official governor ...

, coincidentally his former commander. Nieto's grant was not only one of the first three awarded by the Spanish 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 ...

, it was also the largest. After Nieto died, his children requested his original grant be partitioned. In 1834, Mexican governor

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 ...

officially declared Rancho Los Alamitos as one of the five partitions. Autumn Flowers (178777705)

In 1844 the rancho was purchased by Abel Stearns, a

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

native who typified the many

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United S ...

s who settled in California and merged with the ruling Mexican

Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sin ...

s population. Stearns, who married Arcadia Bandini, the daughter of the early Spanish regional civic and business leader Juan Bandini, became one of the leading merchants and major ranchos owners in Mexican

The rancho was on the periphery of the battles that settled the

California Campaign California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

of 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 ...

by 1846. During the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California f ...

, the rancho supplied much of the beef that would be herded north to feed the growing number of

Immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

s who were flocking to the gold fields of Northern California from 1848 on. After California became a

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

in 1850, Rancho Los Alamitos was the headquarters of the largest cattle ranch then in existence in the United States. Through shrewd business dealings, Stearns assumed control of Los Alamitos and many other surrounding ranchos.

After a disastrous drought in the 1860s, Stearns lost control of the ranch which was then sub-let to a number of farmers until the early 1880s when John William Bixby, a cousin of Jotham Bixby and

Llewellyn Bixby Llywelyn, Llewelyn or Llewellyn is a name of Welsh language origins. See Llywelyn (name) for the name's etymology, history and other details. As a surname Arts *Carmen Llywelyn, American actress and photographer * Chris Llewellyn (poet), American ...

who controlled the adjacent

Rancho Los Cerritos :''This article refers to the land grant. For the Rancho Los Cerritos adobe, see Los Cerritos Ranch House'' Rancho Los Cerritos was a 1834 land grant in present-day southern Los Angeles County and Orange County, California The grant was the res ...

, bought the rancho along with a group which included his cousins and

Isaias Hellman Isaias Wolf Hellman (October 3, 1842 – April 9, 1920) was a German-born American banker and philanthropist, and a founding father of the University of Southern California. Early life Hellman was born in Reckendorf, Bavaria on October 3, 1842. ...

, the founder of the

Farmers and Merchants Bank of Los Angeles Farmers and Merchants Bank (F&M) is a historic lending institution (1871−1952) based in Downtown Los Angeles, California. It is known both for its architecture and its pivotal role in the economic development of early Los Angeles. Other, non-r ...

. Trying to capitalize on the 1880s Southern California land boom, John Bixby developed the townsite of Alamitos Beach, which would eventually be assumed by Long Beach. Before Bixby could do much more he died suddenly in 1888, apparently due to an

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...

attack, and Rancho Los Alamitos was separated between three major parties. The developed Alamitos Beach properties were shared equally, while John Bixby's heirs kept the central section of the remaining rancho, the Bixby cousins from Rancho Los Cerritos assumed control of the northern section, and Hellman took control of the southern lands around present day Seal Beach. Unfortunately, a financial crisis prevented the various parties from seriously pursuing John Bixby's dream of developing Alamitos Beach. The Bixbys had once flirted with

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and which is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet ('' Beta vulgaris''). Together ...

production on properties they held in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. In the 1890s, Jotham Bixby arranged to provide land on the rancho for sugar beet production and recruited the capital of

William Clark William Clark (August 1, 1770 – September 1, 1838) was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Miss ...

, who was amongst the richest men in the United States, to build a sugar beet refinery plant on a portion of the Bixby Ranch property. Later oil discoveries from the Long Beach Oil Field continued to fund the rancho. The historic ranch house, surrounding ranching facilities, and some open landscape of Rancho Los Alamitos can still be found adjacent to

Cal State Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

. The

Bixby family The Bixby family is an American family that was heavily involved in the development of California ranches and real estate in the 19th and 20th centuries. Through various companies, they controlled at one time or another large swathes of California ...

descendants donated the property to the City of Long Beach in 1967.

Historic sites of the Rancho

The early 19th century

adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for '' mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of ...

ranch house still stands today, surrounded by its historic gardens designed by

Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (July 24, 1870 – December 25, 1957) was an American landscape architect and city planner known for his wildlife conservation efforts. He had a lifetime commitment to national parks, and worked on projects in Acadia, th ...

and

Florence Yoch & Lucile Council Florence Theresa Yoch (July 15, 1890 – January 31, 1972) and Lucile Council (November 17, 1898 – January 21, 1964) were influential California landscape designers, practicing in the first half of the 20th century in Southern California. Biograp ...

, all of which are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The Rancho Los Alamitos house and grounds are a museum which presents the history of the rancho era, the country house era, and the region.

References

External links

Official Rancho Los Alamitos: Historic Ranch and Gardens websiteRancho Los Alamitos: Historical and Architectural Narrative. ''(33pg. pdf)''
* ttp://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/ca/ National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary: Early History of the California Coastbr>Rancho Los Alamitos: History Timeline of Ownership & Occupants
{{Authority control Alamitos, Los Los Alamitos Los Alamitos Gardens in California Houses in Los Angeles County, California Historic house museums in California Museums in Long Beach, California Open-air museums in California Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California Ranches on the National Register of Historic Places in California Garden Grove, California Los Alamitos, California Long Beach, California Paramount, California History of Long Beach, California History of Orange County, California Landscape design history of the United States Landmarks in Long Beach, California Los Alamitos

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References

External links