Los Angeles County CA Archives History - Books .....Santa Monica Bay Region 1908
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Book Title: Ingersoll's Century History, Santa Monica Bay Cities

History of Santa Monica Bay Cities.

CHAPTER I.

SANTA MONICA BAY REGION.

THE BAY OF SANTA MONICA extends along the coast from Point Vicente, latitude 33°
40' to Point Dume, latitude 34° a distance of seventeen miles, north by west.
The coast line of the bay makes an inward sweep which is some ten miles deep at
its extreme point, in the neighborhood of Port Los Angeles, and includes an area
of 25,000 miles. The waters of this bay are, ordinarily, quiet since the force
of the waves is broken by the seaward islands and the deep, recessed position of
the shore line. The depth of the water increases from the beach outward with an
easy and gradual slope for several miles.

    The shore line is most varied. At its northern extremity, Point Dume rises,
domelike, to a height of 200 feet, and back of it the Santa Monica range rises
abruptly almost from the waters of the shore to a height of 2,000 feet and forms
the northern border of the bay. Gradually the slope falls into the palisades and
sinks to the sand dunes and the Ballona lagoon, then rises again into low hills
along the southern rim. Back from the palisades sweep the gently rising plateaus
of the San Vicente and San Jose de Buenos Ayres ranches. Southward extend the
cienegas and pastures of the Ballona creek district and the low, rolling ranges
of the Sausal Redondo and San Pedro region.

    The Santa Monica Bay territory thus includes a large variety of scenery, a
most varied topography and a wide range of resources. Its mountains furnish an
invaluable water supply; the greater part of its lower lands are readily
supplied with water from wells, while a considerable, portion of the region
needs no irrigation and includes some of the most valuable farming land in Los
Angeles county. The distinctive topography of this district accounts for a
climate which is incomparable, since it has all the advantages of both coast and
inland —the freshness of the ocean air, with the freedom from harsh winds, of
the interior.

DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION.

    The first explorer of the California coast, Cabrillo, after spending six
days-in San Diego Harbor, which he named San Miguel, sailed along "a mountainous
coast, overhung with smoke," landed at Catalina to which he gave the name of
Victoria, then anchored in a bay which he called "Bahia de Fumos" (Bay of
smoke), San Pedro Bay and, on October 9, 1542 he dropped anchor in an "ensanada"
or bight which is generally granted to have been Santa Monica Bay. At just what
point he anchored is not known, but undoubtedly Cabrillo was the first European
to observe the palisades, the fair fields and gentle rolling hills that mark
this coast. After this brief visit there is no record of vessel or visitor to
this region for more than two hundred years.

    The waters of the bay were sometimes disturbed by the rude boats of the
Santa Barbara Channel and Island Indians; the valleys adjacent to the coast and
the Santa Monica mountains were the homes of a people who have long since
disappeared and of whose existence we know only by the occasional uncovering of
skeletons and relics. Several caves and mounds containing curious collections of
implements, weapons and bones have been found on the Malibu ranch at various
times. These Indians roamed over the plains and through the cienegas, killing
rabbits and small game and gathering acorns and grasses, roots and berries. They
also fished along the shore, mostly with nets, and gathered shells—their most
prized possession. It is said that these shells were particularly abundant along
the shore where Ocean Park and Venice now stand and that the Indians from the
interior and from Catalina used to visit this spot to secure shells which took
the place of money with them.

    Vizcaino describes the Indians seen along the coast of California during his
explorations early in the seventeenth century as of good form and of active
character, the men wearing a short cloak made of rabbit or deer skins, heavily
fringed, the more industrious having their garments embroidered with shells. He
describes a rancheria seen along the shore in this vicinity as composed of about
twenty houses made of rushes over a frame of -poles driven into the ground.
These were very like the brush ramadas still constructed by the Indians of
California. Bancroft states that the Indians of Los Angeles county ate coyotes,
skunks, wildcats and all sorts of small animals. They would not eat bear meat or
the flesh of large game for superstitious reasons. They were poor hunters having
no effective weapons, and hunted deer by hiding themselves under a skin with the
head and horns intact, until they were within bowshot. They made fishhooks,
needles and other small articles of bone and shell, ground their acorns and
seeds in a metate, or stone mill, and constructed wooden boats or tule rafts for
their fishing expeditions, using seines made of tough bark.

THE NAME.

    The Indians were the only occupants of the coast for some time after the
beginnings of settlement had been made at San Gabriel and Los Angeles. It is
claimed that the party of Captain de Portala, which made the first overland
expedition through California in 1769 in search of the Bay of Monterey, passed
through a canada near the present location of the Soldier's Home and paused
under a group of sycamores while Fathers Crespi and Gomez, the priests
accompanying the expedition, said mass. A very old sycamore tree is pointed out
as the one where the service was performed and is still looked upon with
veneration.

    We have no authentic account of how the name Santa Monica came to be
applied; but the old Spanish settlers have a legend of its origin which may be
true. The story is that a couple of Spanish soldiers were given a furlough to
explore the region about the new "pueblo de Los Angeles." They came one day to a
couple of clear bubbling springs near the ocean. After drinking, they threw
themselves upon the ground between the springs to rest. As they lay there on the
gently sloping hillside, overlooking the wide, green plains and the ocean, one
of them asked, "And what shall we call this spot, brother?"

    And the other, turning from one glistening, pool to the other, answered "We
will call it Santa Monica, for the springs resemble the tears of the good Santa
Monica shed for her erring son."

    The legend of Santa Monica is one of the most beautiful connected with the
saints. According to tradition the holy woman was born in Africa about 332 A. D.
She was brought up so strictly that she was not allowed even a drink of water
between meals and was early married to Patricius, a gentleman of hot and hasty
temper. She had two sons and one of them Augustine, to the great grief of his
mother, would not yield to her teachings and be baptized into the church.
Instead, he was carried away by heresy and entered upon an immoral life. The
mother spent much of her time in praying for and weeping over the wayward son.
For many years she sorrowed and once, in her despair, she went to a good bishop
and related her woes. "Wait," the bishop told her, "and keep on praying. The
child of so many tears cannot perish."

    At last the son fell ill and came near death. He recovered, however, in
answer to his mother's prayers and this so softened his heart that at last he
saw the error of his ways and became a devout believer, finally becoming the
great Saint Augustine.

    Whether we accept this legend or not, the bay and the region were certainly
named for the good Santa Monica, whose day in the calendar was May 4th. The name
does not seem to appear upon record until the petition for the grant known as
San Vincente y Santa Monica was made by Don Francisco Sepulveda and Augustin
Machado in 1827. The springs mentioned in the legend, later known as San
Vincente springs were included in this grant.

SETTLEMENT.

    What is commonly known as the Santa Monica Bay region includes portions of
four land grants, Malibu—extending twenty-two miles along the coast to the
north; Boca de Santa Monica, including the mouth of Santa Monica Canyon; San
Vicente y Santa Monica, which had an ocean frontage of a mile and a half and
extended back four miles from the coast, covering an area of about 40,000 acres;
and La Ballona rancho, with an ocean frontage of four miles.

    For nearly three quarters of a century after the first settlement was made
on the Malibu tract in 1804, or possibly earlier, this entire region was given
over to grazing herds of cattle and sheep and to grain raising, on a small
scale. The haciendas of the grant owners were each a little community in itself
and the simple, pastoral life of the Spanish occupation lingered, to an unusual
degree until the final breaking up of these ranches, during the past twenty-five
years.

    But life in those slow-moving days, while not as strenuous as in our day of
perpetual rush and change, had its occupations, its interests and its
amusements. Most of these rancheros were also residents of Los Angeles and took
an active part in municipal and territorial affairs. At their country homes they
were surrounded by a large retinue of relations, retainers and servants, the
latter mostly Indians. All of these were under the protection and command of the
head of the house and all were fed, clothed, and provided for. The number of
people about his place was a matter of pride with the ranchero.

    And the days on one of these large stock ranges were not all "siesta" by any
means. Herds and flocks must be guarded from thieves and the ravages of wild
beasts; they must be shifted from plain to valley, from coast to mountain-side,
as the season demanded. There were rodeos, the annual rounding-up of stock, to
attend and sometimes a large cattle owner must be present at several of these
affairs in order to secure all of his stock. The matanza, or slaughtering, was a
busy season requiring careful selection of animals and good judgment in
bargaining with the traders of the hide droghers; sheep-shearing was another
period of arduous labor; the tanning of hides, the rendering of tallow and the
harvesting of grain all demand due attention. There were dry seasons when losses
were heavy, and cold, wet years which were disastrous to cattle and especially
sheep.

    The greater part of the necessary supplies were raised upon the rancho, but
yearly the hides and tallow were traded with the sailing vessels that put into
San Pedro, for such supplies and luxuries as were brought from the Orient, or
from Boston. Certainly the life of those years was not without its interests.
The unstability of political affairs the constaint bickering and jealously of
Monterey and Santa Barbara on the one hand, and Los Angeles and San Diego, on
the other; the frequently changing and very uncertain orders and officials sent
from Mexico, all of these afforded pretty steady excitement in Los Angeles. And
Los Angeles seems never to have been a really dull place—even in its sleepiest
days. There was generally something doing—if it was only a murder before
breakfast. For amusements there were balls and weddings, horse races and bull
fights and the various fiestas of the church.

    The ranches near the coast were not as exposed to depredations from the
dreaded "desert" Indians as were the more interior locations, but there are
still traditions of lively scraps with bands of thieving Indians on the Malibu
and the San Vicente, and there is at least one "encino del Indias" located on
the palisades where an Indian horse thief was hanged without legal preliminaries.

TOPANGA MALIBU.

    The first land grant in this vicinity was that known as Topanga Malibu made
in 1805 to Don Jose Bartolemeo Tapia. A deed executed in 1845 and recorded in
the county records states that July 12, 1805, the "Governor of Loreto," then
Governor of California decreed that certain "pasajes'" which are called Malibu,
Topango, Sottome, Simi and Sequit, be granted to Jose Bartolemeo Tapia. This
deed further states that April 18, 1824, the property passed into hands of Senor
Tapia's heirs, Tomaso, Fernando, Juan Antonio and Tiburcio Tapia. The property
is described as bounded on the north by the "Sierra Mayor, on the south, El Mar
Oceano Pacifico; the east by Rancho Santa Monica and the west by el Rio de San
Buena Ventura." In 1848 it passed into the possession of Maria Villeboso and
Victor Leon Prudhomme for " cuatro cientos pesos "—four hundred dollars.

    The Malibu grant, with its almost impassable mountain ranges, extending into
the very ocean, its inacessible canyons, its hidden mesas and wildernesses, has
always been a land of mystery and many romantic stories of smuggling, of buried
treasure, of robbery and murder have been connected with it.

    The first grantee, Jose B. Tapia, must have stocked the place, as he willed
it with its "ganado" or cattle, to his heirs. His son Tiburcio occupied the
place, probably during the twenties and thirties and it is said buried a couple
of chests of his abounding coin somewhere on the ranch. Tiburcio Tapia was one
of the most interesting characters of earlier Los Angeles history. Born in San
Luis Obispo, where his father was then acting as Alcalde, in 1789, he became a
soldier. In 1824, he was a corporal of the guard at Purisima at the time of an
Indian uprising which threatened the massacre of the entire Spanish population.
With four or five men, Tapia defended the families and the padres during the
night and only surrendered when the powder gave out. It is said that the rebels
offered to spare Tapia, if he would give up his arms, but he declined the
proposition.

    Soon after this he must have removed to Los Angeles, where he was one of the
earliest merchants. Alfred Robinson says of him, "We stopped at the house of Don
Tiburcio Tapia, the Alcalde Constitutional (Constitutional Judge) of the city,
who was once a common soldier but who, by honest and industrious labor has
amassed so much of this world's goods as to make him one of the wealthiest
inhabitants of the place. His strict integrity gave him credit to any amount
with the trading vessels, so that he was the principal merchant and the only
native one in "el Pueblo de Los Angeles."

    Don Tiburcio filled many positions of trust. In 1827, which must have been
soon after his location in Los Angeles, he was chosen with Juan Bandini,
Romualdo Pacheco and four other prominent citizens to act as vocale or member to
represent the southern district in the territorial diputacion which convened at
Monterey, the legislative body of that time. Don Tiburcio was made a member of
the committee on police regulations, which must have been one of the most
important subjects under consideration in those days. His record makes it appear
that Senor Tapia was something of a politician, or so- it would seem now-a-days;
but we are assured that in the early days of Los Angeles the office had to seek
the man and sometimes went begging for an occupant, so we must put Senor Tapia
down as one of the most self-sacrificing and public spirited citizens Los
Angeles ever had. He was re-elected vocale twice. In 1831 he was alcalde (mayor)
of Los Angeles; in 1833 he was "sindico," recorder; in 1835 "encargado de
Indians"; 1836, alcalde—second alcalde—it took two mayors to keep things moving;
In 1839 he was alcalde again and was also confirmed in the grant of the
Cucamonga Rancho by governor Alvarado. In 1840 he was one of the five substitute
judges elected by the junta, or superior court. In 1844 he again served the city
as alcalde.

    He must have been a busy man, as the leading merchant of the town and as one
of the owners of the Topanga Malibu and, at the same time he was making
extensive improvements on the Cucamonga Rancho, where he built a residence. It
is said that as rumors of American designs upon California became rife, Don
Tiburcio became, alarmed for his store of coin, which was unusually large for
that period. He is said to have carried much of it to Cucamongo and buried it,
and there are also stories of other chests of it hidden on the Malibu. Whatever
treasures of silver and gold he may have stowed away, did him no good, for he
died suddenly in 1845 and it seems to have been lost to his family. He left one
daughter, Maria Merced, who later married Leon V. Prudhomme, one of the early
French settlers of Los Angeles, and who is still living in that city.

    An interesting tale of an early smuggling episode is also related to Malibu
history. According to Bancroft, in 1819, a couple of American vessels, strongly
suspected of smuggling intentions, were cruising along the coast of Southern
California. One of these ships was signalled off the coast of the Malibu and
induced to make a landing. Two men, Antonio Briones, who is stated to have been
a claimant for the Malibu grant at one time, and Maximo Alanis, who was later
the grantee of the Buenos Ayres Rancho, induced the smugglers to land their
goods, then seized the sailors and declared that they would turn them over to
the authorities unless a ransom of $1000 was paid to them. As their captors had
conclusive evidence, the captain was about to pay over his thousand dollars,
when one of the guard "celebrated" too soon and in his happy oblivion allowed
the prisoners to escape. The booty, however, remained in the hands of Briones
and Alanis, who decided to say nothing to the authorities about the little
matter and keep the goods to recoup themselves for the ransom money they had
lost. But the officials of that day seem to have had their eyes open and in some
way discovered the mysterious doings on the Malibu coast. Briones and Alanis
were arrested, the goods confiscated and these brilliant "promoters" of 1819
were imprisoned for six months in chains. It is to be hoped that somebody
finally paid the duty on the consignment.

    In later years the Malibu was the favorite rendezvous of an extensive band
of horse and cattle thieves. The early records of Los Angeles county contain
many accounts of exciting chases and arrests made in the fastnesses of the
Malibu, or Malaga, region. Don Tiburcio Tapia seems to have been a remarkable
exception in his family, for the name Tapia appears almost as frequently in the
criminal records as did Don Tiburcio's in the political records of an earlier day.

    In the early sixties, the Malibu grant passed through tax sale into the
hands of Mathew Keller, better known in those days as "Don Mateo." Mr. Keller
was born in Ireland and came to America at an early date. After living in Mexico
for a time, he came to California and located in Los Angeles about 1850,
becoming one of its best known and most prominent citizens. He was one of the
first to engage in wine-making and to plant out an extensive vineyard, for which
he imported stock from France. He devoted a great deal of attention to the
cultivation of the grape and was also interested in the early experiments in
raising cotton. At one time he had a complete ginning outfit set up in Los
Angeles and offered its use to any one who would raise cotton. He made a
thorough study of the process of making wine of different varieties and
manufactured it in large quantities. He established houses in Los Angeles and
San Francisco and was instrumental in introducing California wines in the east
on a large scale, having extensive connections in New York for the handling of
his own manufacture.

    He put up a large ranch house on the Malibu and made improvements there and
when he died in 1881 he left the grant to his son, Henry W. Keller, formerly of
Santa Monica, who sold it in 1891 to the late Frederick H. Rindge. 

FREDERICK HASTINGS RINDGE was born in Cambridge, Mass., December 21st, 1857. He
was a descendant of the Puritan stock which has furnished so large a portion of
the best blood and ablest brains of our country. Among his ancestors were Daniel
Rindge, who commanded the Ipswich troops in the campaign which destroyed King
Philip, of the Naragansett; Samuel Baker, one of the minute men who marched to
the relief of Lexingttn in 1775, and Daniel Harrington, a resident of Lexington
who served through the Revolutionary war with distinction, retiring with the
rank of captain. His father, Samuel Baker Rindge was a merchant of very large
estate, which he used most wisely. His mother, Clarissa Harrington, was a woman
of fine character.

    Frederick Rindge was the only surviving child of his parents and was left in
a weakened state by an attack of scarlet fever in his childhood. His education
was conducted with especial care and while still a youth he traveled
extensively, visiting California in 1870 and during 1871-2 visiting many places
of interest in Europe. He completed his preparation for college under Dr. James
Laurence Laughlin and entered Harvard in 1875. Owing to illness, he was forced
to leave college in his last year; but several years later he was given his
degree. Soon after leaving college he succeeded to his father's estate, and at
once entered upon an active business career which proved him to possess unusal
qualities of good judgment and executive ability; although his character and
tastes were strongly inclined to a studious life.

    He visited California again in 1880, in search of health, and returned to
New England with renewed strength. For a number of years he devoted himself to
the management of his large commercial interests in Massachusetts. As a
testimonial of his love for his birthplace, he erected and presented to the city
of Cambridge a city hall and, later, built for the city a beautiful public
library building. He established there, and for ten years maintained, the Rindge
Manual Training School for boys—the first manual training school in the state.

    On May 27, 1887, he was married to Miss Rhoda May Knight, of Trenton,
Michigan, daughter of James and Rhoda Lathrop Knight. They were the parents of
three children, Samuel Knight, Frederick Hastings and Rhoda Agatha.

    In 1887, he came to California to make his permanent home. He soon settled
upon Southern California as his place of residence. In January, 1891, he
purchased property on Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica and at once built a handsome
residence. This home was occupied by the family, in conjunction with the ranch
house on the Topanga Malibu until they removed to Los Angeles in 1903.

    In 1891 Mr. Rindge purchased the property commonly known as the Malibu
ranch, a Spanish land grant originally made to Jose B. Tapia in 1804, and later
belonging to Don Mateo Keller. The original property extended along the coast
northwesterly from Las Flores canyon for twenty miles. To this Mr. Rindge added
other tracts until he owned a strip of land extending along the sea coast for
twenty-four miles. Beautiful "pasages" or valleys; fertile mesas, stretches of
magnificent beach, lofty peaks and ridges, gave a wonderful variety of scenery
and climate to this rancho. Mysterious caves, almost inaccesible canyons, groves
of ancient oak and sycamore lent romance and charm. It is not strange that Mr.
Rindge, with his poetical tendency of thought and spiritual trend of mind, found
here his ideal home and loved this historical rancho—not as property—but as a
divine inheritance. He built here a home that was perfect in its adaptation to
the environment and he spent here some of his happiest hours. His book, "Happy
Days in Southern California" is largely a tribute to his life upon the Malibu,
although it deals with other aspects of California life also.

    But while he sought rest and inspiration in the seclusion of his ranch home,
Mr. Rindge never shut himself out from active participation in business and
public affairs. During the years of his residence in this state, from 1888 to
1905, probably no other man was ever connected with so many and such large and
varied interests. His investments were made not only with a view to the increase
of his own wealth but, very largely, for the purpose of developing the resources
of this country and thus giving opportunity to men of lesser means. For this
reason he was a moving factor in a large number of companies organized to
develop water and reclaim land, and in various other enterprises. Among the most
important of these was the Conservative Life Insurance Company, of which he was
president. Mr. Rindge, believing that a man should make his gifts while living,
was a man of large yet unostentatious benevolences. He gave liberally to the
Methodist church of which he was long a consistent member, being of a deeply
religious nature. He aided many institutions, both in California and in New
England, and lent a helping hand to many individuals. He was discriminating in
his charities—as a man of such great wealth must be —if he is to be a power for
good rather than for evil.

    While living in Santa Monica, Mr. Rindge closely associated himself with the
life of the community. In 1895 he offered to erect and donate a church building
to the Methodist society, provided the church would support a pastor and pay all
incidental expenses. In consequence, a neat and commodious church, still in use,
was built at a cost of $15,000 and dedicated before the end of the year. He took
an active personal interest in the campaign which was made by the advocates of
temperance and by the better class of business men to rid the town of saloons,
speaking at the meetings and offering to indemnify the city treasury for the
loss of revenue derived from the saloon licenses. Accordingly, after the
"anti-saloon" party carried the election, he presented his check for $2,500 to
Mr. Robert F. Jones, then mayor of Santa Monica. He served for several years
upon the school board of the town, was president of the Good Government League,
and was a member of various local organizations.

    In 1903 the ranch house on the Malibu, with all its furnishings, including a
part of Mr. Rindge's fine library, was destroyed by fire. About this time the
family removed to Los Angeles where Mr. Rindge had erected a handsome house on
Harvard Boulevard, in a section of the city he had helped to develop. On
locating in Los Angeles, he identified himself with the Westlake M. E. church,
to which he contributed liberally. He was also deeply interested in the Young
Men's Christian Association, being an active member and aiding largely in
lifting the debt which for many years hung over the Los Angeles association. He
was one of the originators of the Ocean Park Y. M. C. A. Company, which started
the town of Ocean Park.

    As a relaxation from his many cares, Mr. Rindge gave much attention to
scientific research and the study of the early history of America and of
California. He was a member of the New England Historical and Geneaological
Society and of the Archaeological Institute of America. His collection of coins
and of aboriginal arts was of such value that he was induced to place them in
the loan exhibit of the Peabody Museum, at Harvard College, and also in the
Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He gathered a large amount of material bearing on
Pacific coast archaeology and his collection of memorials of California history
was unequalled among private collections.

    In acknowledgement of the .honor conferred upon him through his forebears,
he became a member of the Society of Colonial Wars and also of the Sons of the
Revolution. He was president of the Harvard Club of Los Angeles, from the time
of its formation until his death.

    The death of Mr. Rindge, which occurred August 29th, 1905, was in one sense,
untimely. He was a comparatively young man and was in the midst of an active and
useful life. Yet his existence had been a long struggle with weakness and his
spirit was full-grown. Death may come at any time to such a man and we cannot
say that it is premature. To his family, to his friends—all over the United
States, to the public generally, his departure meant a great loss and a great
grief. But to himself it was only a passing on to a higher life.

    It was well said of his career: "As a business man, as a church leader, as a
Y. M. C. A. president, as a consistent worker for the development of the city
and the state, Mr. Rindge made himself so useful that no other man can take his
place. He was a rich man; but he employed his wealth for the greatest good of
the greatest number—not in selfish pleasure nor for personal aggrandizement. He
was a man of strong religious convictions: but the grace of humility and a broad
understanding prevented his religion from degenerating into religiosity. A
staunch, steadfast, unassuming man, with all of his millions, those who differed
from him in opinion could admire his fidelity to his ideals; and those not
blessed with money could be glad that such a fortune was entrusted to worthy
hands."

    Knowing intimately the affairs and purposes of her husband, Mrs. Rindge, as
executrix of the estate, is carrying forward with a steady hand the large
enterprises which her husband had undertaken.

SAN VICENTE Y SANTA MONICA.

    It is probable that the rich grazing lands in the vicinity of Santa Monica
were utilized early after the establishment of "el Pueblo de Los Angeles," for
the herds of the settlers and of the missions multiplied with amazing rapidity
and by 1800 the grazing land in the immediate vicinity of Los Angeles and San
Gabriel was overstocked. After the granting of the Malibu, however, we have no
record of settlement in this neighborhood until 1827 when Francisco Sepulveda
and Augustin Machado, settlers of Los Angeles, petitioned for a tract of land.
According to the testimony of Jose Antonio Carrillo, who was alcalde in 1828, he
received an order from "the Hon. Jose Maria Echandia, a Political Chief, issued
by virtue of a petition of several citizens, requesting to be placed in
provisional possession of the common lands of the city held by them."

    Amongst these, he gave possession to Francisco Sepulveda of the lands known
as San Vicente, with a piece of pasture (potrero) named Santa Monica. "The order
of Gov. Echandia only had reference to parties who owned one hundred and fifty
head of cattle, and as Sepulveda came within this condition it was especially
commanded to give him this land, with the adjoining potrero of Santa Monica."
But the boundaries of the lands thus given possession of were not defined and
there was soon dispute as to the territory included. December 20th, 1839, a
title was issued to the rancho called San Vicente and Santa Monica, in favor of
Don Francisco Sepulveda, "with the condition of abiding whatever actions should
be had thereon, in case such land may be comprised within the limits of the City
of Los Angeles." This grant was made by Governor Alvarado; but it still did not
settle the question of boundary which was disputed on all sides. In 1840
Sepulveda petitioned the governor to place him in "pacific possession of the
property, as Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes have given a bad example of
disobedience and that under the strength of discordant documents they remain in
possession of the place called Santa Monica." In 1846 Governor Pico confirmed
Sepulveda's grant, but as Marquez and Reyes, also had a grant to the "potrero "
of Santa Monica, the dispute over the boundaries continued and was not settled
until the question came into the United States courts and after long litigation
was decided. The San Vicente y Santa Monica grant was finally confirmed July
23rd, 1881, to include 30,259 acres instead of the 58,409 acres originally claimed.

    Aside from the question of boundaries, there has been much litigation over
the possession of the San Vicente lands. On the death of Don Francisco, the
property was left to his wife and children, and several lawsuits were necessary
in the family before the lands were satisfactorily divided.

    Don Francisco Sepulveda, the original grantee, with two brothers, were among
the earliest settlers of California. He was first a soldier in San Diego, but in
1815 was a citizen of Los Angeles, cultivating pueblo lands. The Sepulveda
family has played an important part- in the history of Southern California and
is connected with many of the best families of today. Don Francisco had a large
family. One of his sons, Don Jose, was grantee of the San Joaquin rancho and
took a leading part in early local and political affairs. He was the father of
Judge Ygnacio Sepulveda and Mrs. Thomas Mott. Don Francisco built a ranch .house
near the San Vicente springs in 1837. Here 'he set out vineyards and orchards
and at least three of his sons resided with him or built houses near by. These
were Juan Maria, Carmel and Dolores. Traces of these buildings can still be
seen, although the original ranch houses have all disappeared. The last home 01
Dolores Sepulveda, built in 1863, an adobe house well preserved and very typical
of the ranch house of early days, still stands. At one end is a very old walnut
tree and back of it stand the twin sycamores which have long been a landmark.

    Don Francisco also had a home in Los Angeles and was frequently concerned in
municipal affairs. In 1824 he was "regidor" or recorder, of the pueblo; later he
was alcalde and on the secularization of the missions, he was made administrator
of San Juan Capistrano. In 1831 he was one of the victims of Governor Victoria's
arbitrary orders and with Tomas Talmantes, Jose Maria Avila, Maximo Alanis,
Demisio Dominguez and Jose Aguilar, was imprisoned for supposed implication in
the removal of the presiding alcalde, Vicente Sanchez, whom the citizens of Los
Angeles had removed from office, because of alleged incompetence to hold the
position, and whom they refused to restore to the alcaldeship when Victoria so
ordered.

    The Sepulveda family were given to horse racing, as appears from various
records. There seems to have been bitter rivalry between the Sepulvedas and the
Picos, in the matter of horses. In 1840, according to Bancroft, a horse race
took place between animals owned by Andreas Pico and Fernando Sepulveda, a
minor. The result led to a dispute and a suit against Sepulveda for the stakes.
The father was finally forced to pay the stake by Alcalde Lugo. The matter was
appealed to the governor, who on the advice of the judges of the first district,
decided that Lugo must pay back the stakes and be suspended from office until he
should do so. Lugo refused to be suspended, or to pay the stakes, except after
legal proceedings by the junta. He claimed that the governor and the Monterey
judge had acted as partisans, and that they had made many blunders and that the
affair was none of their business, anyhow, but belonged to the superior
tribunal, and if there was no such body, it was their own fault. He said that
Francisco Sepulveda was present at the race and had in other races paid his
son's losses without objection. The final decisions of this interesting case
does not appear on record; but it is evident that the affair led to a long and
bitter trial of horse-flesh between the Picos and Sepulvedas.

    In 1852, a race took place which has become historical. The Picos owned a
gelding which had beaten every other animal put up against it. Jose Sepulveda,
after repeated losses, was eager to seize any chance to "down" Pico's horse.
While on a trip to San Diego, he saw a mare which attracted his attention. It
proved to be an English thoroughbred, just brought over from Australia. He at
once negotiated for the animal, it is said, offering to pay the owners ten
thousand dollars for her. He returned north and made the arrangement for a race
of three leagues, at San Pedro, to be run to a stake and back again. Excitement
ran high and on the day of the race the entire population of the country, with
visitors from Santa Barbara and even Monterey, and all San Diego, were present.
The horse was to be ridden California style, the rider strapped to his bare back
and the owners and backers permitted to ride beside him and use the whip. The
mare was equipped in the American style, with light racing saddle and a little
jockey.

    Betting ran high. It was the custom among Californians to hand over the sum
of money bet to the taker. After the race, the holder kept the money, if he won,
or returned it double, if he lost. No papers or guarantees were necessary, for a
California's word was as good, or better, than a bond. On this occasion the
Californians all bet heavily on Pico's horse, while the Americans backed Don
Jose's Black Swan. The Swan, after a terrific struggle, won, and it is said
Sepulveda won nearly fifty thousand dollars. After the race was over, he took
the bridle from the mare and declared that she should never again wear bridle or
saddle, and he kept his word. She passed the rest of her life free upon the
plains. He had won from the Pico's—that was triumph enough.

    Another instance of the horsemanship of the family is related by Major
Horace Bell in his "Reminiscences of a Ranger." He describes a rodeo held in
May, 1853, at San Joaquin rancho, the home of Don Jose Sepulveda. On the third
night of the affair at midnight Don Jose and his brother Don Fernando were still
talking gaily with their guests. A little later a messenger arrived with the
news that their aged father, Don Francisco Sepulveda, was about to pass away.
The brothers at once mounted. Major Bell and another American decided to
accompany them, although warned that they could not keep up. As Don Jose was
then sixty years of age, they felt confident that they would be able to hold
their own; but before the party reached Los Nietos, the Sepulvedas had
disappeared in a cloud of dust and the Americans drew rein, having ridden
forty-three miles in three hours.

BOCA DE SANTA MONICA.

    One of the earliest settlers in the pueblo de Los Angeles was Francisco
Reyes, who came with a party in 1785. Very soon thereafter he must have taken
possession of lands in the vicinity of San Fernando, for in 1797 the Rancho
Encino held by him was taken from him and both land and buildings appropriated
to the San Fernando Mission. His son, Ysidro, was born hi Los Angeles and in
1828 he, with Francisco Marquez was given a provisional grant to lands already
occupied by them for grazing purposes in the Santa Monica Canyon. This grant was
known as the "Boca de Santa Monica" (the mouth of Santa Monica). The land
included in it was later claimed to be a part of Santa Monica potrero granted to
Francisco Sepulveda. In 1839, Governor Alvarado investigated the conflicting
claims and regranted each tract to the original holders. Still the question of
the boundary was disputed and was not finally disposed of until about 1880, when
the United States courts fixed the limits of the Boca de Santa Monica and July
2ist, 1882, a patent for 6,656 acres of land was confirmed to Marquez and Reyes.

    Ygnacio Reyes built a ranch house in Rustic Canyon and the family have
continuously occupied the land since 1824, part of the grant still being owned
by the descendants of the original grantees. This is an unusual case for
generally the great land grants of the state have passed entirely out of the
hands of the Californians, and the families of the original claimants have
profited nothing by the marvelous increase in values.

    Ygnacio Reyes also owned a home in Los Angeles, on Main street, near Fourth,
and is frequently mentioned in the annals of the town. He died there during an
epidemic of smallpox in 1863. Three sons still survive him, Guadalupe of
Sawtelle; Ysidro and Antonio of Los Angeles.

    Francisco Marquez built his ranch house on the edge of the bluff, about at
the end of Seventh street. Here it was a landmark for many years, having been
destroyed within the past few years. Members of the family still live in Santa
Monica Canyon and retain a part of the original lands.

LA BALLONA.

    La Ballona rancho, or as it was named in the original document "La Ballena"
(the whale), was formally granted to a company composed of Augustin and Ygnacio
Machado, Felipe and Tomas Talamantes, all citizens of Los Angeles, by Governor
Alvarado in 1839. There is evidence to show that prior .to this grant, a tract
of land nearer to Los Angeles had been occupied by the same citizens as a stock
range but had been taken from them, either because it was too near the city, or
was needed for the stock of San Gabriel.

    At any rate they received a princely domain in the fertile fields and rich
pastures of "La Ballena," and at once stocked it and built residences upon it.
The haciendas of the Machados on this ranch were among the best examples of the
California home. They are still standing—that of Augustin Machado, a large and
most substantial adobe, the walls and roof of which is still intact, is
unoccupied at present and is used as a store house. It seems a pity that this,
one of the best specimens of the early California homes should not be preserved.
The home of Ygnacio Machado, a little distance away, is now occupied by one of
his sons, Antonio, and the part which remains is in good repair and is a fine
sample of the simplicity and solidity of the genuine adobe house of the better
class. This house once contained fourteen rooms built about a court, but a
portion of these have now been removed.

    The Machado brothers were prominent among early residents of Los Angeles.
They owned a tract of two acres of land in the vicinity of Second and Main
streets, where each of them had homes. Augustin Machado served "el pueblo de Los
Angeles" as alcalde, and was frequently concerned in public affairs. He married
Ramona, a daughter of Don Francisco Sepulveda, of the San Vicente, and their
home both in Los Angeles and at La Ballona, was a center of social gaity. Of
this marriage there are still living Bernardino. Andreas and Jose de Luz, all of
whom reside on Ballona lands. One son, Dolores, died in 1906, leaving a family
which resides in Ocean Park; two-daughters, Mrs. Juan Barnard and Ascencion,
have recently died. Don Augustin died in Los Angeles in 1865.

    Bancroft tells this story of Don Augustin: "The merchant, Don Jose Antonio
Aguirre, owner of the Ship Joven Guipuzcoana, once had a new supercargo, who was
a stranger to and ignorant of affairs in California, While the ship lay at San
Pedro, Aguirre being absent, Augustin Machado, a well-to-do ranchero, and a man
of sterling character, but who could neither read nor write, went on board to
make purchases, his carretas being at the landing. After selecting his goods, as
he was about to place them in a launch to be carried on shore, the sunpercargo
asked him for payment, or some guaranty or note of hand. Machado stared at him
in great astonishment; at first he could not comprehend what the man meant. Such
a demand had never been made from him before, nor, in fact, from any other
ranchero. After a while the idea struck him that he was distrusted. Plucking one
hair from his beard, he seriously handed it to the supercargo, saying, 'Here,
deliver this to Senor Aguirre and tell it is a hair from the beard of Augustin
Machado. It will cover your responsibility—it is sufficient guaranty.' The young
man, much abashed, took the hair and placed it carefully in his books and
Machado carried away the goods. Aguirre was chagrined on hearing the story, for
Machado's word was as good as the best bond. Jose M. Estudillo relates this
incident and also the following: In 1850 Aguirre sent Estudillo to Los Angeles
to collect old bills, many of which were outlawed; but the greater part of which
were finally paid. He visited Machado's rancho at La Ballona, to collect a
balance of about $4000 and happened to arrive when the house was full of
company. He was cordially received as a guest and when apprised of the object of
his visit, Machado said that he had been for some time thinking that he was
indebted to Aguirre, and promised to meet Estudillo in Los Angeles in two days.
At the time appointed Machado was there and delivered the whole sum at the door
of Manuel Requena's house, refusing to take a receipt, saying that Aguirre was
not in the habit of collecting the same bill twice."

    Ygnacio Machado married Estefania Palomares, daughter of a well-known
Spanish family of Los Angeles county. Three of their sons still survive,
Antonio, living in the old house; Andres, who lives at Hollywood, and Cristobal,
now in Texas. Don Ygnacio is described as a man of stern, yet generous mold. It
was his habit to rise very early and waken his household to join him in the
morning song, with which it was the custom for all good Spanish families to
begin the day. Of Ygnacio Machado, J. J. Warner wrote in 1876: "Don Ygnacio
survives the others (of his company)—those faithful friends of his earlier days,
at the age of eighty-two, he grasps the hand as warmly as ever, rides on
horseback, as usual; patriarch to whom the community bears respect almost
filial." The Machado brothers were widely known and deeply respected as
honorable and just men, generous and ever kind. The present head of this branch
of the family, Antonio Machado, son of Ygnacio, is a worthy successor of his
father. Simple, unassuming, courtly, of good judgment and kindly heart, he looks
back to the old days and the care-free life of the past with wistful eyes.

    The Ballona grant of 13,919 acres was confirmed to the Machados December
8th, 1873. It was at once divided among the members of the family and tracts of
it were sold. It comprised nearly two thousand acres of first-class irrigable
land, two thousand acres of damp lands which needed no irrigation, and the rest
was pasture land. In early days it was chiefly occupied as a stock range,
although some grain was raised and orchards of various fruits were planted about
the haciendas. The district was occupied by a number of families in the fifties
and sixties and was one of the first townships set aside, originally including
San Vicente, Boca de Santa Monica, Malibu and a large territory. It was
organized into a school district during the sixties and was a factor in the
elections of early days. During the seventies Francisco Machado, a son of
Augustin, was one of the county supervisors and political "boss" of the
district. Although many prosperous American farmers are now residents of Ballona
lands and the towns of Palms, Ocean Park and Venice are located on lands
originally belonging to the rancho, the Machados still retain a part of the
original grant and a considerable number of native Califorhians are found in the
vicinity.

    Antonio Machado married Manuela Valuenza and has a number of children, most
of whom are still living at home. Andreas, a son of Augustin, lives on the old
Augustin Machado place and has recently built a very comfortable home. Jose la
Luz also lives in the neighborhood in a neat cottage.

    In 1861 a military camp was located on La Ballona, near the creek about
three-quarters of a mile from the present town of Palms. This was made the
headquarters of the First California Volunteer Infantry, Gen. J. H. Carleton,
commanding officer. The camp was established in September, being occupied by
Company A, under Col. Latham, for whom the station was named Camp Latham.
Several companies were encamped here and at one time there were probably 1500
men present. They were sent from here to Arizona to protect the mail service and
the camp was not occupied after 1862. A couple of soldiers were buried here and
in 1895 their neglected graves were remembered by the veterans of Santa Monica,
who made a special trip to decorate them.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

Ingersoll's century history, Santa Monica Bay cities: prefaced with a brief
history of the state of California, a condensed history of Los Angeles County,
1542 to 1908: supplemented with an encyclopedia of local biography and
embellished with views of historic landmarks and portraits of representative
people.

Los Angeles: Luther A. Ingersoll (1908)



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