Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera facts for kids
Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera was a large piece of land, about 4,219-acre (17.07 km2) in size. It was given out as a Mexican land grant in 1843. This happened in what is now Los Angeles County, California. Governor Manuel Micheltorena gave the land to Vicente Sánchez.
The name "La Cienega" comes from a Spanish word meaning "swamp" or "marshland." This name was used because there were natural springs and wetlands in the area. These wet areas were located between places like Beverly Hills and Park La Brea, near the Baldwin Hills.
The other part of the name, "Paso de la Tijera," shows up on maps from around 1860. It marked a spot where a path crossed a stream. Today, this is near the intersection of Crenshaw Boulevard and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Some people think "Paso de la Tijera" means "Pass of the Scissors." They believe it described a path through the Baldwin Hills that looked like open scissors. However, others say "tijera" often meant "drainage ditch" in old land descriptions.
Long ago, the Los Angeles River sometimes changed its path. Before 1825, it used to flow into Ballona Creek on this rancho and then into Santa Monica Bay. But in 1825, the river changed course again. It went back to flowing into San Pedro Bay through Rancho San Pedro.
Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera was located east of La Cienega Boulevard and south of Exposition Boulevard. It included parts of today's Baldwin Hills district, Leimert Park, Ladera Heights, and Windsor Hills. Nearby ranches included Rancho Las Cienegas to the north and Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes to the west, also in the Baldwin Hills.
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History of the Rancho
The land grant, which was about one square league in size, was given in 1843. Governor Micheltorena gave it to Vicente Sánchez. Vicente Sánchez (1785 - 1846) was an important person. He served as the Alcalde of Los Angeles (which means mayor) in 1831-1832 and again in 1845.
After Vicente Sánchez passed away in 1846, his wife, Maria Victoria Higuera, and his grandson, Tomás Sánchez, inherited the rancho.
California Becomes Part of the U.S.
After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. This change was agreed upon in the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty said that the land grants given by the Mexican government would still be honored.
To make sure land ownership was clear, the U.S. government passed the Land Act of 1851. This law required people to file a claim for their land. So, a claim for Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852. The land was officially "patented" (meaning the ownership was legally confirmed) to Tomás Sánchez in 1873.
New Owners and the Baldwin Hills
Tomás Sánchez lived on land that belonged to his wife, Maria Sepulveda Sanchez. Her family owned part of Rancho San Rafael. In 1875, Tomás Sánchez sold Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera to several people. These included Francis Pliney Fisk Temple, Arthur J. Hutchinson, Henry Ledyard, and Daniel Freeman.
However, Francis Temple soon faced money problems. In 1875, a man named Elias J. "Lucky" Baldwin bought the rancho. He was a very successful businessman. The hills in the western part of the rancho were then named after him, becoming known as the Baldwin Hills.
Baldwin mainly used the rancho for raising sheep, but it didn't make much money. When Lucky Baldwin died in 1909, his daughter, Anita M. Baldwin, discovered something important. She realized there was oil on the land! By 1916, people had started drilling for oil there.
Special Places on the Rancho
- Sanchez Adobe de Rancho La Cienega o Paso de la Tijera: These old adobe buildings were once the main center of the rancho. Adobes are buildings made from sun-dried mud bricks. They had thick walls and tall ceilings with redwood beams. In the 1920s, an addition was built to connect the buildings. The whole structure was then turned into a larger clubhouse for the Sunset Golf Course. The oldest part of this building might have been built in the 1790s. If so, it would be one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city of Los Angeles! It was named a Los Angeles historic-cultural monument in 1990.
- Kenneth Hahn State Regional Park: This park helps protect the remaining open lands of the rancho. It also preserves the natural habitats (the places where plants and animals live) in the Baldwin Hills. It's a great place to see what parts of the rancho might have looked like long ago.
