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Health & Fitness

History of Rancho San Pedro

Maureen Megowan, a realtor with Remax Estate Properties, provides an article in a series titled "South Bay History Tidbits"

                        HISTORY OF RANCHO SAN PEDRO

The land which includes the entire Palos Verdes Peninsula, San Pedro, Torrance, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach, was part of the first Spanish land grant in California. Juan Jose Dominquez, a member of the 1769 Spanish Portola Expedition helped protect Junipero Serra and other Franciscan padres who established a chain of missions from San Diego to Sonoma.

Due to Dominguez's many years of dedicated service to the King of Spain, Governor Fages bestowed a provisional grant to the retired old soldier in March 1784, allowing him to graze his cattle on Rancho San Pedro. These original land grants were not considered at the time to be a permanent ownership interest, but were instead merely considered a permit to use the land and to occupy it. This was the first private land grant in Southern California.

The boundaries of this original land grant have been a controversial subject of historians, with most historians stating that the Rancho San Pedro consisted of approx. 75,000 acres with the northern boundary of Rancho San Pedro extending in a southwesterly direction to the ocean at a point between Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach.

After the death of Juan Jose in 1809, Manuel Gutierrez, who had been the ranch manager of the Dominquez ranch, became the executor of Juan Jose's estate. In his will, drawn up three days before his death, as Juan Jose Dominguez had no wife or children, he left half of Rancho San Pedro to Cristobal Dominguez and the other half was divided between Mateo Rubio, who had been in charge of ranch operations, and Gutierrez.

When Cristobal realized that his uncle died in debt and neglected his rancho, he initially wanted no part of his inheritance. He had no money to pay his uncle's creditors and could not occupy the rancho, even if he wanted, because he was still obligated to the military. He, in fact, did not even attempt to defend his title to the land for seven years. Gutierrez paid off the debts owed by Juan Jose Dominguez, established residence and assumed control of the rancho.

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Next post: The Sepulveda’s vs. The Dominquez’s

For more South Bay and Palos Verdes History, see http://www.southbayhistory.com , part of my website http://www.maureenmegowan.com

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