RLC will offer architecture tours spotlighting the Monterey Colonial style in which the historic adobe was constructed (1844), and the Mission Revival style in which the it was renovated (1930). These 20-minute tours are free and offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Saturday, June 3 & Saturday, June 10, 1-5 PM Sunday, June 4 &[…]
Explore Rancho Los Cerritos during Long Beach Architecture Week 2023!
By Loren Simpson Events, history, Long Beach May 20, 2023
Winter Holidays in Southern California 1784-1940
By Christa Weston history Dec 08, 2021
Southern California has a wide range of winter holiday celebrations that are reflective of the diverse peoples, cultures, and communities that make up the US. Some of the holidays celebrated at Rancho Los Cerritos before it became a historic site were Christmas and New Years. Las Posadas and Hanukkah are some other winter holidays that[…]
Black On the Range: African American Cowboys of the 19th century
By Curatorial Intern history, Uncategorized Aug 13, 2021
Black On the Range: African American Cowboys of the 19th century “They numbered thousands, among them many of the best riders, ropers, and wranglers.” – The Negro Cowboys by Philip Durham & Everett L. Jones Did you know that 1 out of every 4 cowboys was Black? Historians now estimate that between 20 to 25% of[…]
UCLA Student Eileen Skalky Researches History at Rancho Los Cerritos
By Christa Weston exhibits, history, Long Beach Jul 21, 2021
Eileen Skalky, an Anthropologie student at UCLA recently contacted the Rancho to make a research appointment. She is following in the footsteps of her great grandmother and Long Beach historian Loretta Berner. Eileen is researching the cogged stones that were found on-site and the time period they come from. Eleven cogged stones were unearthed at[…]
Rafaela Cota de Temple: Hija del Pais (Daughter of the Land)
By Sarah Wolk FitzGerald history Mar 08, 2021
In honor of International Women’s Day, we are highlighting the life story of Rafaela Cota de Temple. She was the wife of John Temple, who established a cattle ranch at Rancho Los Cerritos in 1844 and commissioned the construction of the Rancho’s adobe home. Rafaela Cota was born in March 1812 at the Santa Barbara Presidio to[…]
African-American History at Rancho Los Cerritos and Southern California
By Rancho Staff history, Long Beach Feb 03, 2021
Black people contributed to shaping the region we now know as Southern California. Their history has often been erased due to a lack of emphasis on preservation and research and due to whitewashed versions of history that are often presented in media. From the 1780s to the 1930s there were many people living and working[…]
LA as Subject Archives Bazaar
By Rancho Staff Events, exhibits, history Oct 16, 2020
The LA as Subject Archives Bazaar is going virtual and will be hosted online on 10/17. You can view all of the virtual exhibitor booths by clicking here: https://laassubject.org/archives-bazaar/archives-bazaar-demand-virtual-exhibitor-booths-showcases-and-tutorials. In addition to having the Rancho featured on the Archives Bazaar site, we are also included in their virtual exhibit: https://scalar.usc.edu/works/when-i-think-of-home/index.
Recruited by Long Beach Police Captain Tom Williams as a “social experiment” in January 1908, Fanny Bixby Spencer (1879-1930) is believed to have been America’s first policewoman. In her own words, “My work as a special officer was unique because I entered before the days of regular policewoman and I blazed a trail. I went[…]
What is Juneteenth?
By Sarah Wolk FitzGerald Events, history Jun 18, 2020
Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19th to commemorate the ending of slavery in the United States. The holiday dates back to June 19, 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas with news that the Civil War had ended and that enslaved people were free. This was two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln’s[…]
New Exhibit Tea Through Time Opens Online
By Curatorial Intern exhibits, history May 12, 2020
Tea through Time at Rancho Los Cerritos is the latest Rancho Los Cerritos exhibit, curated by Arts Council for Long Beach intern Anthony Smyers. For the first time in Rancho history, this exhibit will have its opening online. Find the exhibit here: https://www.rancholoscerritos.org/tea-through-time-exhibit/. Since 1844, many different people have passed through the doors of Rancho Los[…]