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The Earliest Peoples

In 1930 eleven cogged stones were discovered at Rancho Los Cerritos. Dating to 2-5,000 BC, they represent the earliest presence of Native Americans in the area; however, little is known of these first peoples. Between 500 and 1200 AD, another group from the Great Basin of Utah and Nevada displaced the inhabitants of the region. They built 50-100 villages in the greater Los Angeles area; their village of Tibahangna lay near the river on the Cerritos property. Identified today as the Tongva, they lived off the land, gathering acorns, seeds and berries, fishing the rivers and oceans, and hunting for small game. Their highly complex society included extensive trade, technological achievements, a rich oral literature, formalized birth, rite-of-passage and death traditions, and a belief in a supreme being, Chinigchinich.

After Spain began settling California, the Tongva and other Native Americans were encouraged to move to nearby missions, where they learned new trades and were introduced to Christianity. Thus, the Tongva became known as the Gabrielino, named after the nearby Mission San Gabriel.

The Spanish & Early Mexican Era 1784-1843

Though first "discovered" and claimed in 1542, the Spanish government did not begin settling California until 1769, when it sent both sea and land expeditions to "Alta California" to establish missions, presidios (forts) and pueblos (towns). In 1784 a Spanish soldier, Manuel Nieto, received a grant of 300,000 acres as a reward for his military service and to encourage settlement in California. Nieto's acreage was reduced in 1790 because of a dispute with the Mission San Gabriel, but he still laid claim to 167,000 acres stretching from the hills north of Whittier to the sea, and from today's Los Angeles River to the Santa Ana River. Nieto constructed a dwelling for his family near the present town of Whittier, stocked the land with cattle and horses, and cultivated corn. Upon his death in 1804, his children inherited his property.

After years of joint ownership, Nieto's lands were formally divided into six parcels in 1834. Daughter Manuela Cota received the area known as Rancho Los Cerritos ("Ranch of the Little Hills"), approximately 27,000 acres bordered on the west by the (now) Los Angeles River and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. She and husband Guillermo built at least two adobes on the land and raised twelve children, as well as cattle and crops. Following her death, her heirs sold the Rancho to Massachusetts-born John Temple in December, 1843.

The Cattle Era 1844-1866

Temple constructed the present two-story Monterey-style adobe in 1844 as headquarters for his large-scale cattle operation. To supplement his mercantile business in Los Angeles, he pastured as many as 15,000 head and engaged in the lucrative hide and tallow trade. Although Rancho Los Cerritos was only used by Temple as a summer home and he maintained his main residence in Los Angeles, much care and expense was lavished on an elaborate formal garden at the Rancho. Significant trees from this time still exist.

The Gold Rush gave a boost to the Southern California cattle industry at a time when demand for cow hides was decreasing. Ranchers such as Temple drove their cattle north to feed the hungry miners. By the early 1860s, however, successive years of severe flooding and drought helped speed these prosperous years to a close. Tens of thousands of cattle died, and Temple decided to retire. He sold Rancho Los Cerritos in 1866 to the firm Flint, Bixby & Co. for $20,000.


Jotham Bixby, c. 1905
 

The Sheep Ranching Era 1866-1881

Brothers Thomas and Benjamin Flint and their cousin Lewellyn Bixby founded Flint, Bixby & Co. and began raising sheep in Northern California in 1854. In 1866 the company selected Lewellyn's brother Jotham to manage their southern ranch, and three years later Jotham bought into the property and formed his own company. From 1866 to 1881, Jotham Bixby and his family resided in the Cerritos adobe. As many as 30,000 sheep were kept at the ranch and sheared twice yearly to provide wool for trade.

Seven children were born to Jotham and his wife, and numerous cousins, aunts and uncles resided at or visited Rancho Los Cerritos, contributing to a lively, undoubtedly hectic atmosphere. Sarah Bixby Smith shared personal moments from this time in her entertaining book Adobe Days.

  Sheep shearers, spring 1872.

Sub-Division and Development Era 1882-1929

Toward the late 1870s when the sheep industry in Southern California was on the decline, Jotham Bixby chose to lease or sell portions of the property. By 1884 the town of Long Beach occupied the southwest corner of the Rancho. Eventually Bellflower, Paramount, Signal Hill and Lakewood were founded as well on Los Cerritos lands. Dairy farms thrived and beans, barley and alfalfa were planted. From 1890 to 1927, the Cerritos adobe housed a succession of tenants and fell into disrepair through general neglect.

Remodel 1930-1931

The Virginia Country Club was built next door and homes had cropped up in the area when, in 1930, Lewellyn Bixby's son Llewellyn, Sr. chose to remodel Rancho Los Cerritos for his family. Although the renovation was extensive, the original configuration of Temple's adobe remained intact. Ralph Cornell redesigned the grounds for the family, incorporating the trees that survived from the Temple era. After Llewellyn, Sr.'s death, the family eventually sold the house and 4.7 acres of land to the City of Long Beach. In 1955 the site opened as a public museum dedicated to the history of the Rancho and the surrounding area.

Timeline

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