Los Cerritos Ranch House Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Significant dates

Los Cerritos Ranch House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

Los Cerritos Ranch House
Location in the Los Angeles metropolitan area Location in California Show map of California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach, California
Built	1844
NRHP reference No.	70000135
Added to NRHP	April 15, 1970
Designated NHL	April 15, 1970

The Los Cerritos Ranch House, also called Rancho Los Cerritos or Casa de los Cerritos, is a historic home in Long Beach, California. It was once the biggest and most impressive adobe (a type of brick made from earth and straw) house built in Southern California when Mexico ruled the area. The name "Los Cerritos" means "the little hills" in English. In 1970, it was named a National Historic Landmark. Today, it is a popular museum.

History of Rancho Los Cerritos
Rancho Los Cerritos as a Museum
Gallery
See also

History of Rancho Los Cerritos

The Los Cerritos Ranch House was built in 1844. It is a type of building called a Monterey Colonial adobe. This style mixes Spanish and American building ideas. A merchant named Jonathan Temple built the house. He was an American pioneer who became a Mexican citizen. The house was the main office for a huge ranch. This ranch was about 27,000 acres (109 square kilometers) in size. The main activities on the ranch were raising cattle and sheep.

The Land Grant and Early Owners

The land for the ranch was originally part of a much larger area. This area was a 167,000-acre (676 square kilometers) land grant. It was given to Manuel Nieto by the Spanish government. Later, this large grant was split into six smaller parts. One of these parts became Rancho los Cerritos.

In 1843, Jonathan Temple bought the Rancho Los Cerritos land. He then built the adobe house in 1844. It served as the main building for his cattle business.

Changes in Ownership and Ranching

In 1866, Temple sold the ranch to a company called Flint, Bixby & Company. This company changed the ranch's focus. Instead of cattle, they started raising sheep. Jotham Bixby, whose brother was one of the company's founders, managed the ranch. He also lived there from 1866 to 1881.

Jotham Bixby was very important to the area. He is known as the "father of Long Beach." He eventually bought the ranch for himself. He and his wife raised seven children in the adobe house. One of his children was Fanny Bixby Spencer. She grew up to be a kind person who gave money to good causes. She was also a poet and believed in peace.

Development of the Land and Renovations

Starting in the late 1870s, Jotham Bixby began to sell or lease parts of the ranch. These pieces of land later became cities. Some of these cities include Downey, Paramount, and Lakewood.

Between the 1880s and 1920, the adobe house started to fall apart. It needed a lot of repairs. In 1929, Llewellyn Bixby, who was Jotham's nephew, bought the property. He made many big changes to the house. These changes included adding a plaster cement coating to the outside. He also put on a new red-tiled roof. Inside, he added electricity, plumbing, and fireplaces. A sun porch was also added. New floors were put in, and much of the garden was improved.

Llewellyn Bixby passed away in 1942. In 1955, his family sold the house to the City of Long Beach. The City decided to turn the house into a museum. The museum's goal is to teach people about California's rancho period.

Rancho Los Cerritos as a Museum

Today, the Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site is a public museum. The Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation runs it with the City of Long Beach. You can visit the museum for tours, special programs, and events. It is open from Wednesdays through Sundays.

Inside the Historic House

The house is decorated in a Victorian style. This shows how it would have looked when Jotham Bixby lived there. His family lived in the house in the 1870s. There is also a visitor center at the site. It has exhibits that tell the story of the site. These exhibits cover history from the time of Native Americans to today.

Gardens and Resources

Outside, there is a beautiful formal Italian garden. It has olive, pomegranate, and cypress trees. Jonathan Temple planted these trees a long time ago. The site also has a special library. It holds 3,000 books about California history. There is also a museum shop where you can buy souvenirs.

Important Repairs and Accessibility

The museum was closed for 17 months from 2001 to 2002. This was to make important repairs and updates. Workers made the building safer in case of an earthquake. They also removed old paint and insulation. Brickwork was fixed, and changes were made to help people with disabilities visit easily.