Manuel Dominguez
Encyclopedia
Manuel Dominguez born at the Mission San Juan Capistrano
in Alta California
, Viceroyalty of New Spain, and was the heir to the vast Rancho San Pedro
land grant.
soldier, arrived at and founded the Presidio of San Diego
, California
in 1769 with Fernando Rivera y Moncada
. Dominguez served with Gaspar de Portolà
and Juniperro Serra on the first European land exploration of California, the Portola expedition
. It traveled north to the San Gabriel Valley
, Los Angeles Basin
, San Fernando Valley
, Monterey Bay
, and the first European sighting of the San Francisco Bay
.
In 1784, Juan Jose Dominguez received a land grant
grazing concession, 75000 acres (303.5 km²) of land and one of the first in California, by the upper Las Californias military Governor Pedro Fages
on behalf of Spanish
King Carlos III named Rancho San Pedro
. It included what today is the entire Port of Los Angeles
, San Pedro, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson
, Compton
, Dominguez Hills
, Lomita
, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Redondo Beach
, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach
, and Torrance
.
as rancho headquarters above the Los Angeles River
floodplain
in the Dominguez Hills
, preserved in present day Carson
. In 1828 Manuel Domínguez was elected to the Pueblo de Los Angeles
Cabildo
(City Council) under Mexican rule. Four years later, at the age of 29, he was elected Alcalde (Mayor) of the Pueblo de Los Angeles
. From 1833 to 1834, Manuel served as a representative from Los Angeles pueblo to the Mexican Provincial Legislature in Alta California's capitol of Monterey
. At this same time, he was appointed by the Governor as the Third Prefect of the Southern District of Alta California, which gave Manuel authority over all of present day Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
owner Guillermo Cota. Upon Manuel Domínguez’s death in 1882, and the passing of his wife one year later, the Rancho San Pedro lands were partitioned among his six surviving children, all daughters.
Mission San Juan Capistrano
Mission San Juan Capistrano was a Spanish mission in Southern California, located in present-day San Juan Capistrano. It was founded on All Saints Day November 1, 1776, by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order...
in Alta California
Alta California
Alta California was a province and territory in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and later a territory and department in independent Mexico. The territory was created in 1769 out of the northern part of the former province of Las Californias, and consisted of the modern American states of California,...
, Viceroyalty of New Spain, and was the heir to the vast Rancho San Pedro
Rancho San Pedro
Rancho San Pedro was one of the first California land grants, and the first to win a patent from the United States. The land grant was validated by the Mexican government at in 1828, and a US patent validating was issued in 1858...
land grant.
Juan Jose Dominguez
Juan Jose Dominguez (1736 - 1809), a SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
soldier, arrived at and founded the Presidio of San Diego
Presidio of San Diego
El Presidio Reál de San Diego is an historical fort established on May 14, 1769, by Commandant Pedro Fages for Spain. It was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the United States. As the first of the presidios and Spanish missions in California, it was the base of...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1769 with Fernando Rivera y Moncada
Fernando Rivera y Moncada
Fernando Javier Rivera y Moncada was a soldier from New Spain who served in the Baja California peninsula and upper Las Californias, participating in several early overland explorations. Fernando Rivera y Moncada served as a Spanish Miilitary Governor from 1774-1777. -Biography:Rivera was born...
. Dominguez served with Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar de Portolà
Gaspar de Portolà i Rovira was a soldier, governor of Baja and Alta California , explorer and founder of San Diego and Monterey. He was born in Os de Balaguer, province of Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain, of Catalan nobility. Don Gaspar served as a soldier in the Spanish army in Italy and Portugal...
and Juniperro Serra on the first European land exploration of California, the Portola expedition
Portola expedition
250px|right|Point of San Francisco Bay DiscoveryThe Portolá Expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá from July 14, 1769 to January 24, 1770. It was the first recorded Spanish land entry and exploration of present day California, United States...
. It traveled north to the San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
, Los Angeles Basin
Los Angeles Basin
The Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the Peninsular and Transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs...
, San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
, Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....
, and the first European sighting of the San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
.
In 1784, Juan Jose Dominguez received a land grant
Ranchos of California
The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...
grazing concession, 75000 acres (303.5 km²) of land and one of the first in California, by the upper Las Californias military Governor Pedro Fages
Pedro Fages
Pere Fages Beleta , nicknamed L'Ós , was a soldier, explorer, and the second Spanish military Governor of Las Californias Province of New Spain from 1770 to 1774, and the Governor of Las Californias from 1782 to 1791.-Life:...
on behalf of Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
King Carlos III named Rancho San Pedro
Rancho San Pedro
Rancho San Pedro was one of the first California land grants, and the first to win a patent from the United States. The land grant was validated by the Mexican government at in 1828, and a US patent validating was issued in 1858...
. It included what today is the entire Port of Los Angeles
Port of Los Angeles
The Port of Los Angeles, also called Los Angeles Harbor and WORLDPORT L.A, is a port complex that occupies of land and water along of waterfront. The port is located on San Pedro Bay in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, approximately south of downtown...
, San Pedro, Harbor City, Wilmington, Carson
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
, Compton
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...
, Dominguez Hills
Dominguez Hills (mountain range)
The Dominguez Hills are a low mountain range in the Transverse Ranges, in southern Los Angeles County, California.They are between the Baldwin Hills and Palos Verdes Peninsula.-See also:*California State University, Dominguez Hills*Manuel Dominguez...
, Lomita
Lomita, California
Lomita is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 20,256 at the 2010 census, up from 20,046 at the 2000 census...
, the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Redondo Beach
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is the wealthiest beachfront city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The city is on the Pacific coast, south of El Segundo, and north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing. During the winter, the...
, and Torrance
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
.
Cristobal Dominguez
Juan Jose Dominguez died in 1809, and left the rancho to his nephew Cristobal Dominguez. Cristobal died in 1822, but his three sons (including his eldest son, Manuel Dominguez) settled on the ranch, building adobe homes.Manuel Domínguez
Manuel Domínguez (1804 - 1882), eldest son of Cristobal Dominguez, is credited with the solidification of the Rancho San Pedro with a new Mexican land grant and with the development of the rancho, and erecting the Dominguez Rancho AdobeDominguez Rancho Adobe
The Dominguez Rancho Adobe is California Historical Landmark Number 152, and in 1976 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior....
as rancho headquarters above the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
in the Dominguez Hills
Dominguez Hills (mountain range)
The Dominguez Hills are a low mountain range in the Transverse Ranges, in southern Los Angeles County, California.They are between the Baldwin Hills and Palos Verdes Peninsula.-See also:*California State University, Dominguez Hills*Manuel Dominguez...
, preserved in present day Carson
Carson, California
Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city....
. In 1828 Manuel Domínguez was elected to the Pueblo de Los Angeles
Pueblo de Los Angeles
El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles was the Spanish civilian pueblo founded in 1781, which by the 20th century became the American metropolis of Los Angeles....
Cabildo
Cabildo (council)
For a discussion of the contemporary Spanish and Latin American cabildo, see Ayuntamiento.A cabildo or ayuntamiento was a former Spanish, colonial administrative council that governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected, but were considered to be representative of...
(City Council) under Mexican rule. Four years later, at the age of 29, he was elected Alcalde (Mayor) of the Pueblo de Los Angeles
Pueblo de Los Angeles
El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles was the Spanish civilian pueblo founded in 1781, which by the 20th century became the American metropolis of Los Angeles....
. From 1833 to 1834, Manuel served as a representative from Los Angeles pueblo to the Mexican Provincial Legislature in Alta California's capitol of Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
. At this same time, he was appointed by the Governor as the Third Prefect of the Southern District of Alta California, which gave Manuel authority over all of present day Los Angeles and Orange Counties.
Heirs of Manuel Domínguez
Manuel Domínguez was married to María Engracia Cota, daughter of Rancho Los CerritosRancho Los Cerritos
Rancho Los Cerritos was a 1834 land grant in present day eastern Los Angeles County and Orange County, California The grant was the result of a partition of the Rancho Los Nietos grant. "Cerritos" means "little hills" in Spanish...
owner Guillermo Cota. Upon Manuel Domínguez’s death in 1882, and the passing of his wife one year later, the Rancho San Pedro lands were partitioned among his six surviving children, all daughters.
| Name | Birth/Death | Married | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ana Josefa Juliana Domínguez | 1829 - 1907 | William Dryden (1868), Charles E. Guyer (1884) | |
| María Guadalupe Marcelina Domínguez | 1830 - 1913 | never married | |
| María Dolores Simona Domínguez | 1838 - 1924 | James A. Watson | Watson Land Company |
| Maria Victoria Dominguez | 1842 - 1916 | George Henry Carson | Carson, California Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, Carson had a total population of 91,714. Located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately 14 miles away from the Los Angeles International Airport, it is known as a suburb of the city.... |
| Maria Susana Delfina Dominguez | 1844 - 1931 | Gregorio Del Amo y Gonzalez | Del Amo Boulevard, Del Amo Square |
| Maria de los Reyes Dominguez | 1847 - 1933 | John Fillmore Francis |
See also
- Battle of Dominguez RanchoBattle of Dominguez RanchoThe Battle of Dominguez Rancho or The Battle of the Old Woman's Gun was a military engagement of the Mexican-American War...
- Rancho Dominguez, CaliforniaRancho Dominguez, CaliforniaRancho Dominguez is a former settlement, now an unincorporated community, in Los Angeles County, California. It was located near East Rancho Dominguez. Rancho Dominguez is located between Long Beach, California and Carson, California....
- California State University, Dominguez HillsCalifornia State University, Dominguez HillsCalifornia State University, Dominguez Hills is a public university located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County and was founded in 1960...