Rancho El Escorpión
Encyclopedia
'Rancho El Escorpión was a 1110 acres (4.5 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Los Angeles County, California
given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico
to three Chumash Native Americans - Odón Eusebia, Urbano, and Mañuel.
The half league square shaped Rancho El Escorpión was located at the west end of the San Fernando Valley
on Bell Creek
against the Simi Hills
, and encompassed parts of present day West Hills
(previously Owensmouth and Canoga Park
) and Woodland Hills
.
(Mission San Fernando Rey de España) lands.
Joaquín Romero (1821–), the son of Domingo Romero who was an overseer at San Fernando Mission from 1816 to 1820, received the El Escorpión de las Salinas rancho lands (non-land grant) from the Mission. He obtained a 5/12 section of land which lay adjacent to Rancho El Escorpión on the northern side (now the Chatsworth
Reservoir area).
Odón and Juana Eusebia's daughter, Maria del Espíritu Santo Chijulla (1821–1906), married José Antonio Menéndez (m.1856–1859. In 1857 they had a son, Juan José Menéndez (1857–c.1923)
With the cession
of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho El Escorpión was filed with the United States Public Land Commission
in 1852, and the grant was patented to Odón Eusebia, Urbano, and Mañuel in 1876.
Miguel Leonis (1824–1889) was born in Basque Cambo-les-Bains
-in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
, a traditional French département in the southwest of France
. Fleeing prosecution there, he immigrated to Los Angeles
in 1854, and was naturalized in 1867. He first worked as a sheepherder for Joaquín Romero at Rancho El Escorpión de las Salinas. Later in the 1850s Romero sold his property to Leonis.
In 1871, Miguel Leonis acquired Odón Eusebia's holdings of Rancho El Escorpión, along with an adobe on ranch lands in Calabasas adjacent along the southern boundary. He used the land for cattle and sheep herds.
Leonis took control of the rancho and added land by bullying, litigating, or buying up homesteaders. Though illiterate and only speaking Basque, he was often in court, with over thirty property disputes recorded. He hired Mexican and Malibu Chumash gunmen to expand his lands by threatening homesteaders and squatters. In 1875, a dispute between Leonis and ex-Civil War soldier homesteaders resulted in a violent confrontation that raged on for two weeks through what is now Hidden Hills
. In the 1870s he became feared and respected, known as the "King of Calabasas," "Miguel Grandé," and "El Basque Grandé." In the 1880s his power diminished "from drought, taxes, drought, cattle rustlers, and losing court battles." Miguel Leonis died in 1889 in the Cahuenga Pass
, returning alone from court in Los Angeles when his wagon ran over him.
In his will, Leonis left the bulk of his estate to his siblings, a brother in Los Angeles and the rest in France, and denied that Espíritu was his wife. He described her there as "for many years my faithful housekeeper" and left her $5,000 while the estate was worth approximately $300,000. In an 1887 court document he had claimed marriage. Espiritu contested the will and filed a motion for half of the Leonis estate. The complicated case went to the California Supreme Court three times over sixteen years.
Her Attorney was Major Horace Bell (1839–1918), also her neighbor who owned the land where Rancho El Escorpión’s misplaced adobes were built in the 1840s. In 1905 the final verdict declared the marriage legal, making Espíritu the first common-law spouse to win legal rights in the state, and she inherited the rancho. However Maria del Espíritu Santo died a few months later in 1906.
Her son and daughter-in-law, Juan José Menéndez and Juana Valenzula de Menéndez, then inherited the property. In 1912 they sold Rancho El Escorpión, still 1110 acres (4.5 km²), to George Platt. He established a dairy operation on renamed Platt Ranch variously called Ferndale, ‘escorpion’, or Cloverdale Dairy. The land was not incorporated into the City of Los Angeles until 1958, and Rancho El Escorpión remained open and undeveloped until 1960.
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...
in present day Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico
Pío Pico
Pío de Jesús Pico was the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule.-Origins:...
to three Chumash Native Americans - Odón Eusebia, Urbano, and Mañuel.
The half league square shaped Rancho El Escorpión was located at the west end of the 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...
on Bell Creek
Bell Creek (Southern California)
Bell Creek is a tributary of the Los Angeles River, in the Simi Hills of Ventura County and the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles County and City, in Southern California.-Route:...
against the Simi Hills
Simi Hills
The Simi Hills are a low rocky mountain range of the Transverse Ranges, located in eastern Ventura County and western Los Angeles County, of southern California, United States.-Geography:...
, and encompassed parts of present day West Hills
West Hills, Los Angeles, California
West Hills is an affluent community and district in the western San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States.West Hills is bordered by Chatsworth and the Chatsworth Reservoir to the north, Canoga Park to the east, Woodland Hills to the south, Hidden Hills to the southwest,...
(previously Owensmouth and Canoga Park
Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California
Canoga Park is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California, United States about 25 miles northwest of Downtown Los Angeles....
) and Woodland Hills
Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Woodland Hills is a district in the city of Los Angeles, California.Woodland Hills is located in the southwestern area of the San Fernando Valley, east of Calabasas and west of Tarzana, with Warner Center in its northern section...
.
History
Chumash-Ventureño Chief Odón Eusebia (1795–), his brother-in-law Urbano, and Urbano’s son Mañuel were the grantees of Rancho El Escorpión, formerly San Fernando MissionMission San Fernando Rey de España
Mission San Fernando Rey de España was founded on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary" , 1797. The settlement is located on the former Encino Rancho in the Mission Hills community of northern Los Angeles, near the site of the first gold discovery in Alta California.-History:Mission San Fernando Rey de...
(Mission San Fernando Rey de España) lands.
Joaquín Romero (1821–), the son of Domingo Romero who was an overseer at San Fernando Mission from 1816 to 1820, received the El Escorpión de las Salinas rancho lands (non-land grant) from the Mission. He obtained a 5/12 section of land which lay adjacent to Rancho El Escorpión on the northern side (now the Chatsworth
Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California
Chatsworth is a district of Los Angeles, California, United States; in the northwestern San Fernando Valley. The district is bordered by the Santa Susana Mountains and unincorporated Los Angeles County lands to the north, Porter Ranch to the northeast, Northridge to the east, West Hills, Canoga...
Reservoir area).
Odón and Juana Eusebia's daughter, Maria del Espíritu Santo Chijulla (1821–1906), married José Antonio Menéndez (m.1856–1859. In 1857 they had a son, Juan José Menéndez (1857–c.1923)
With the cession
Mexican Cession
The Mexican Cession of 1848 is a historical name in the United States for the region of the present day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S...
of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...
provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho El Escorpión was filed with the United States Public Land Commission
Public Land Commission
The Public Land Commission, a former agency of the United States government, was created following the admission of California as a state in 1850 . The Commission's purpose was to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican land grants in California.California Senator William M...
in 1852, and the grant was patented to Odón Eusebia, Urbano, and Mañuel in 1876.
Miguel Leonis (1824–1889) was born in Basque Cambo-les-Bains
Cambo-les-Bains
Cambo-les-Bains is a town in the traditional Basque province of Labourd, now in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-People:...
-in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a department in the southwest of France which takes its name from the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.- History :...
, a traditional French département in the southwest of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Fleeing prosecution there, he immigrated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1854, and was naturalized in 1867. He first worked as a sheepherder for Joaquín Romero at Rancho El Escorpión de las Salinas. Later in the 1850s Romero sold his property to Leonis.
In 1871, Miguel Leonis acquired Odón Eusebia's holdings of Rancho El Escorpión, along with an adobe on ranch lands in Calabasas adjacent along the southern boundary. He used the land for cattle and sheep herds.
Leonis took control of the rancho and added land by bullying, litigating, or buying up homesteaders. Though illiterate and only speaking Basque, he was often in court, with over thirty property disputes recorded. He hired Mexican and Malibu Chumash gunmen to expand his lands by threatening homesteaders and squatters. In 1875, a dispute between Leonis and ex-Civil War soldier homesteaders resulted in a violent confrontation that raged on for two weeks through what is now Hidden Hills
Hidden Hills, California
Hidden Hills is an incorporated city, and also a gated development in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 1,856 at the 2010 census, down from 1,875 at the 2000 census.It is located in the westernmost San Fernando Valley...
. In the 1870s he became feared and respected, known as the "King of Calabasas," "Miguel Grandé," and "El Basque Grandé." In the 1880s his power diminished "from drought, taxes, drought, cattle rustlers, and losing court battles." Miguel Leonis died in 1889 in the Cahuenga Pass
Cahuenga Pass
The Cahuenga Pass is a mountain pass through the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Hollywood district of the City of Los Angeles, California....
, returning alone from court in Los Angeles when his wagon ran over him.
In his will, Leonis left the bulk of his estate to his siblings, a brother in Los Angeles and the rest in France, and denied that Espíritu was his wife. He described her there as "for many years my faithful housekeeper" and left her $5,000 while the estate was worth approximately $300,000. In an 1887 court document he had claimed marriage. Espiritu contested the will and filed a motion for half of the Leonis estate. The complicated case went to the California Supreme Court three times over sixteen years.
Her Attorney was Major Horace Bell (1839–1918), also her neighbor who owned the land where Rancho El Escorpión’s misplaced adobes were built in the 1840s. In 1905 the final verdict declared the marriage legal, making Espíritu the first common-law spouse to win legal rights in the state, and she inherited the rancho. However Maria del Espíritu Santo died a few months later in 1906.
Her son and daughter-in-law, Juan José Menéndez and Juana Valenzula de Menéndez, then inherited the property. In 1912 they sold Rancho El Escorpión, still 1110 acres (4.5 km²), to George Platt. He established a dairy operation on renamed Platt Ranch variously called Ferndale, ‘escorpion’, or Cloverdale Dairy. The land was not incorporated into the City of Los Angeles until 1958, and Rancho El Escorpión remained open and undeveloped until 1960.
See also
- History of the San Fernando Valley to 1915History of the San Fernando Valley to 1915The history of the San Fernando Valley from its exploration by the 1769 Portola expedition to the annexation of much of it by the City of Los Angeles in 1915 is a story of booms and busts, as cattle ranching, sheep ranching, large-scale wheat farming, and fruit orchards flourished and faded...
- Leonis AdobeLeonis AdobeLeonis Adobe, built in 1844, is one of the oldest surviving private residences in Los Angeles County and one of the oldest surviving buildings in the San Fernando Valley. Located in what is now Calabasas, California, the adobe was occupied by the wealthy rancher, Miguel Leonis, until his death in...
- Ranchos of CaliforniaRanchos of CaliforniaThe 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...
- List of Ranchos of California
External links
- Library of Congress-HABS: Escorpion (1937) - parent directory
- Library of Congress-HABS: Escorpion, 1937 photos index
- Library of Congress-HABS: Leonis (1963) (& Escorpión) history index
- CSUN Oviatt Library Digital Collections - vintage Rancho El Escorpion images
- Miguel Leonis Adobe
- Leonis Adobe Museum
- Library of Congress-HABS: Leonis (1963) - parent directory
- Map of old Spanish and Mexican ranchos in Los Angeles County