RonnieAdventure #0069 - Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California

Rancho Los Cerritos was originally a 300,000 acre land grant gifted to Manuel Nieto in 1784 as a reward for his military service; but the ranch was reduced in size to 167,000 acres in 1790 because of a dispute with the Mission San Gabriel. When Manuel died, his ranch was divided into six parcels, with Rancho Los Cerritos retaining about 27,000 acres.

In 1843 the Nieto family sold the ranch to a mercantile business man in Los Angeles, who only used the ranch for a summer home; however, the new owner made lavish gardens at the Ranch and imported a number of unusual trees, some of which still exist today.  Then, in 1866 the Ranch was sold to Flint, Bixby & Co for $20,000. Three years later Jotham Bixby purchased the property and started raising sheep to provide wool for the growing California market. Unfortunately, the sheep industry soon started to decline, so portions of the Ranch were sold for other developments, and the Cerritos adobe fell into disrepair through general neglect.

In 1930 the house was remodeled and the grounds were redesigned on a smaller parcel of land. Then, in 1955, Rancho Los Cerritos, consisting of the house on 4.7 acres of land, was sold to the City of Long Beach for a public museum. The museum is now open from 1:00 to 5:00 PM, Wednesday-Sunday, and is a great way to spend an afternoon when visiting Long Beach.

Although Long Beach residents probably hate driving to work in the fog; when you are from the desert and just visiting the area, the fog can be quite enjoyable.