Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera
Encyclopedia
Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera (also known as "Rancho La Tijera ") was a 4219 acres (17.1 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
to Vicente Sánchez. "La Cienega" is derived from the Spanish word cienaga, which means swamp
or marsh
land and refers to the natural spring
s and wetlands in the area between Beverly Hills
and Park La Brea and the Baldwin Hills range
. "Paso de la Tijera" or "Pass of the Scissors" was used by the early Spanish to describe the pass into Pueblo de Los Angeles
through the Baldwin Hills, which resembled an open pair of scissors. The rancho was east of La Cienega Boulevard
and south Exposition Boulevard and includes present day Baldwin Hills district, Leimert Park, Ladera Heights
, and Windsor Hills
.
The Los Angeles River
historically changed course occasionally, and flowed to join Ballona Creek
in the rancho and into the Santa Monica Bay
until 1825, when it returned to its course to San Pedro Bay
through Rancho San Pedro
. Rancho Las Cienegas
was to the north, and Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes
to the west also in the Baldwin Hills.
After Vicente Sanchez's death in 1846, his widow Maria Victoria Higuera and grandson Tomás Sánchez
inherited the rancho.
With the cession
of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1852, and the grant was patented
to Tomas Sanchez in 1873.
Tomas Sanchez lived on the property belonging to his wife, Maria Sepulveda Sanchez, who owned part of Rancho San Rafael
. In 1875, Tomas Sanchez sold Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera to Francis Pliney Fisk (F.P.F) Temple
, Arthur J. Hutchinson, Henry Ledyard and Daniel Freeman. However, Temple experienced financial difficulties and in 1875 Elias J. (Lucky) Baldwin
acquired the rancho, giving his name to the hills that dominated the western section of the rancho and thereafter known as the Baldwin Hills. Baldwin used the ranch primarily as a sheep pasture but it was not profitable. When Balwin died 1909, his daughter Anita Baldwin-Stocker realized that there was oil on the estate, and by 1916 drilling had begun.
Ranchos of California
The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...
in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
to Vicente Sánchez. "La Cienega" is derived from the Spanish word cienaga, which means swamp
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
or marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
land and refers to the natural spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
s and wetlands in the area between Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
and Park La Brea and the Baldwin Hills range
Baldwin Hills (mountain range)
The Baldwin Hills are a low mountain range surrounded by and rising above the Los Angeles Basin plain in central Los Angeles County, California...
. "Paso de la Tijera" or "Pass of the Scissors" was used by the early Spanish to describe the pass into Pueblo de Los Angeles
Pueblo de Los Angeles
El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles was the Spanish civilian pueblo founded in 1781, which by the 20th century became the American metropolis of Los Angeles....
through the Baldwin Hills, which resembled an open pair of scissors. The rancho was east of La Cienega Boulevard
La Cienega Boulevard
La Cienega Boulevard is a major, well-known north–south arterial road that runs between El Segundo Boulevard in El Segundo, California on the south and the Sunset Strip/Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood....
and south Exposition Boulevard and includes present day Baldwin Hills district, Leimert Park, Ladera Heights
Ladera Heights, California
Ladera Heights is a census-designated place and unincorporated area in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. The population was 6,498 at the 2010 census, down from 6,568 at the 2000 census...
, and Windsor Hills
View Park-Windsor Hills, California
View Park-Windsor Hills is a census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 11,075 at the 2010 census, up from 10,958 at the 2000 census...
.
The Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
historically changed course occasionally, and flowed to join Ballona Creek
Ballona Creek
Ballona Creek is an waterway in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, whose watershed drains the Los Angeles basin, from the Santa Monica Mountains on the north, the Harbor Freeway on the east, and the Baldwin Hills on the south...
in the rancho and into the Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay
Santa Monica Bay is a bight of the Pacific Ocean in southern California, United States. Its boundaries are slightly ambiguous, but it is generally considered to be the part of the Pacific within an imaginary line drawn between Point Dume, in Malibu, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Its eastern...
until 1825, when it returned to its course to San Pedro Bay
San Pedro Bay (California)
San Pedro Bay is an inlet on the Pacific Ocean coast of southern California, United States. It is the site of the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which together form the fifth-busiest port facility in the world and easily the busiest in the Western Hemisphere...
through Rancho San Pedro
Rancho San Pedro
Rancho San Pedro was one of the first California land grants, and the first to win a patent from the United States. The land grant was validated by the Mexican government at in 1828, and a US patent validating was issued in 1858...
. Rancho Las Cienegas
Rancho Las Cienegas
Rancho Las Cienegas was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1823 to Francisco Avila. "La Cienega" is derived from the Spanish word cienaga, which means swamp or marshland and refers to the natural springs and wetlands in the area between the Baldwin Hills...
was to the north, and Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes
Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes
Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes was a land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1821 to Bernardo Higuera and Cornelio Lopez by Pablo Vicente de Sola, the Spanish Governor of Alta California. In 1843, this Spanish grant was confirmed by Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena...
to the west also in the Baldwin Hills.
History
The one square league land grant was made in 1843 by Micheltorena to Vicente Sanchez. Vicente Sanchez (1785 - 1846), was Alcalde of Los Angeles in 1831-1832 and 1845.After Vicente Sanchez's death in 1846, his widow Maria Victoria Higuera and grandson Tomás Sánchez
Tomas Avila Sanchez
Tomas Avila Sanchez , Californio soldier and public official. He served on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and served as Los Angeles County Sheriff.-Biography:...
inherited the rancho.
With the cession
Mexican Cession
The Mexican Cession of 1848 is a historical name in the United States for the region of the present day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S...
of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...
provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera was filed with the Public Land Commission
Public Land Commission
The Public Land Commission, a former agency of the United States government, was created following the admission of California as a state in 1850 . The Commission's purpose was to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican land grants in California.California Senator William M...
in 1852, and the grant was patented
Land patent
A land patent is a land grant made patent by the sovereign lord over the land in question. To make a such a grant “patent”, such a sovereign lord must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document and openly publish the same to the public for all to see...
to Tomas Sanchez in 1873.
Tomas Sanchez lived on the property belonging to his wife, Maria Sepulveda Sanchez, who owned part of Rancho San Rafael
Rancho San Rafael
Rancho San Rafael was a Spanish land grant bordering the Los Angeles River and the Arroyo Seco in present day Los Angeles County, California, given in 1784 to Jose Maria Verdugo. The rancho includes the present day cities of Glendale, Eagle Rock, La Cañada, Montrose, and Verdugo City...
. In 1875, Tomas Sanchez sold Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera to Francis Pliney Fisk (F.P.F) Temple
Francisco P. Temple
Francisco P. Temple served on the first Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 1852.-Biography:...
, Arthur J. Hutchinson, Henry Ledyard and Daniel Freeman. However, Temple experienced financial difficulties and in 1875 Elias J. (Lucky) Baldwin
Lucky Baldwin
Elias Jackson "Lucky" Baldwin was a prominent California businessman and investor of the second half of the 19th century.-Biography:...
acquired the rancho, giving his name to the hills that dominated the western section of the rancho and thereafter known as the Baldwin Hills. Baldwin used the ranch primarily as a sheep pasture but it was not profitable. When Balwin died 1909, his daughter Anita Baldwin-Stocker realized that there was oil on the estate, and by 1916 drilling had begun.
Historic sites of the Rancho
- Sanchez Adobe de Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera. The adobe, with thick walls and high, redwood-beamed ceilings, were once the center of the rancho. In the 1920s, an addition was built linking the structures and the building was converted into a larger clubhouse by the Sunset Golf Course.
- Kenneth Hahn State Regional ParkKenneth Hahn State Recreation AreaKenneth Hahn State Recreation Area or "Hahn Park" is a state park and recreation area in the California Department of Parks and Recreation system...
preserves the rancho's remaining open lands and native habitats in the Baldwin Hills.