Apr 15, 1970
Rancho Los Cerritos - National Register of Historic Places
Statement of Significance: The rise of such great ranchos as Los Cerritos in the Mexican period marked the romantic era of pastoral California. The Los Cerritos ranch house, believed to have been the largest and most impressive house in Southern California during the Mexican period, is today the largest extant restored adobe structure in Southern California Rancho Los Cerritos(Little Hills) is a part of one of the first two provisional land grants made by the King of Spain in 1784, for rancho purposes. In November of that year Governor Pedro Fages granted Manuel Nieto all the land between the Santa Ana and San Gabriel Rivers, from the foothills to Pacific, for temporary occupation as a rancho. In return for this land, Nieto agreed to build a stone house on the ranch and to keep at least 2000 head of livestock. By 1800 Los Nietos rancho was the largest and best of the existing 14 provisional Spanish private ranchos and had 1,100 head of cattle. In 1834 when the heirs of Manuel Nieto finally received full title to this 200,000-acre tract from the Mexican government, they subdivided the land into five separate ranchos.
Rancho Los Cerritos - National Register of Historic Places
Statement of Significance: The rise of such great ranchos as Los Cerritos in the Mexican period marked the romantic era of pastoral California. The Los Cerritos ranch house, believed to have been the largest and most impressive house in Southern California during the Mexican period, is today the largest extant restored adobe structure in Southern California Rancho Los Cerritos(Little Hills) is a part of one of the first two provisional land grants made by the King of Spain in 1784, for rancho purposes. In November of that year Governor Pedro Fages granted Manuel Nieto all the land between the Santa Ana and San Gabriel Rivers, from the foothills to Pacific, for temporary occupation as a rancho. In return for this land, Nieto agreed to build a stone house on the ranch and to keep at least 2000 head of livestock. By 1800 Los Nietos rancho was the largest and best of the existing 14 provisional Spanish private ranchos and had 1,100 head of cattle. In 1834 when the heirs of Manuel Nieto finally received full title to this 200,000-acre tract from the Mexican government, they subdivided the land into five separate ranchos.
Apr 15, 1970
Posted Date
Mar 17, 2022
Historical Record Date
Apr 15, 1970
Source Name
United States Department of Interior - National Park Service
