Rancho Los Feliz
Encyclopedia
Rancho Los Feliz was a 6647 acres (26.9 km²) Spanish land concession
in present day Los Angeles County, California
given in 1795 by Spanish Governor Pedro Fages
to Jose Vicente Feliz. The land of the grant includes Los Feliz
and Griffith Park
, and was bounded on the east by the Los Angeles River
.
. In 1787 Governor Fages appointed Feliz as Comisionado of the Los Angeles Pueblo, giving him the powers of Mayor and Judge. For his service, Feliz was granted Rancho Los Feliz.
The grant was confirmed in 1843 by Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena
to Maria Ygnacia Verdugo de Feliz. Maria Ygnacia Feliz was the wife of one of the sons of Jose Vicente Feliz. When Maria's husband died, she inherited the rancho, and later married Juan Diego Verdugo.
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 Los Feliz was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1852, and the grant was patented
to Maria Ygnacia Verdugo de Feliz in 1871.
In 1863, lawyer Antonio F. Coronel
acquired ownership of Rancho Los Feliz from the heirs of Maria Ygnacia Verdugo de Feliz. Coronel sold Rancho Los Feliz to James Lick
, a wealthy businessman from San Francisco. Lick died in 1876.
In 1882, Colonel Griffith Jenkins Griffith
acquired 4071 acres (16.5 km²) of Rancho Los Feliz. Colonel Griffith donated to the city of Los Angeles 3015 acres (12.2 km²) (nearly half of the original rancho), which became Griffith Park, one of the largest city-owned parks in the country. At the time, the Lick estate still owned the southwest portion of the rancho, and there developed the Lick Tract, which later became a part of Hollywood
.
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 1795 by Spanish 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:...
to Jose Vicente Feliz. The land of the grant includes Los Feliz
Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California
Los Feliz, also Rancho Los Feliz is an affluent, hilly neighborhood in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, named after its land grantee José Vicente Feliz....
and Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
, and was bounded on the east by 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...
.
History
Given to Jose Vicente Feliz, this was one of the first land grants made in California. Feliz (or Felix) was born in Sonora, Mexico, about 1741. Corporal Feliz, a veteran of the Anza Expedition of 1776, was a guard at the Pueblo of Los AngelesPueblo 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....
. In 1787 Governor Fages appointed Feliz as Comisionado of the Los Angeles Pueblo, giving him the powers of Mayor and Judge. For his service, Feliz was granted Rancho Los Feliz.
The grant was confirmed in 1843 by Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
to Maria Ygnacia Verdugo de Feliz. Maria Ygnacia Feliz was the wife of one of the sons of Jose Vicente Feliz. When Maria's husband died, she inherited the rancho, and later married Juan Diego Verdugo.
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 Los Feliz was filed with the 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
Land patent
A land patent is a land grant made patent by the sovereign lord over the land in question. To make a such a grant “patent”, such a sovereign lord must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document and openly publish the same to the public for all to see...
to Maria Ygnacia Verdugo de Feliz in 1871.
In 1863, lawyer Antonio F. Coronel
Antonio F. Coronel
Antonio Francisco Coronel served as the fourth mayor of Los Angeles from 1853 to 1854.-Life:...
acquired ownership of Rancho Los Feliz from the heirs of Maria Ygnacia Verdugo de Feliz. Coronel sold Rancho Los Feliz to James Lick
James Lick
James Lick was an American carpenter, piano builder, land baron, and patron of the sciences. At the time of his death, he was the wealthiest man in California, and left the majority of his estate to social and scientific causes.-Early years:James Lick was born in Stumpstown Pennsylvania on August...
, a wealthy businessman from San Francisco. Lick died in 1876.
In 1882, Colonel Griffith Jenkins Griffith
Griffith J. Griffith
Griffith Jenkins Griffith was a Welsh-American industrialist and philanthropist. After amassing a significant fortune from a mining syndicate in the 1880s, Griffith donated to the City of Los Angeles which became Griffith Park, and he bequeathed the money to build the park's Greek Theatre and...
acquired 4071 acres (16.5 km²) of Rancho Los Feliz. Colonel Griffith donated to the city of Los Angeles 3015 acres (12.2 km²) (nearly half of the original rancho), which became Griffith Park, one of the largest city-owned parks in the country. At the time, the Lick estate still owned the southwest portion of the rancho, and there developed the Lick Tract, which later became a part of Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
.
Historic sites of the Rancho
- Los Feliz Adobe. An old adobe house built in the 1830s by heirs of Feliz still stands in Griffith Park (Park Ranger's Headquarters).
- MaugnaMaugna, CaliforniaMaugna is a former Tongva-Gabrieleño Native American settlement, or ranchería, in Los Angeles County, California.It was located at Rancho Los Feliz , present day Hollywood.-See also:*Category: Tongva populated places**Tongva language...
, site of former Native AmericanNative Americans in the United StatesNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Tongva rancheríaRancheríaThe Spanish word ranchería, or rancherío, refers to a small, rural settlement. In the Americas the term was applied to native villages and to the workers' quarters of a ranch. English adopted the term with both these meanings, usually to designate the residential area of a rancho in the American...
settlement preceding the Mexican rancho.