October 10, 2025
A few weeks ago we visited Rancho Los Cerritos, which is near to our house. Also nearby is Rancho Los Alamitos, one of the other five ranchos formed when the Rancho Los Nieto, which had been awarded to Manuel Nieto in 1784, was split among his heirs after his death. So we picked Sofie and Emma up from their school which is just up the road from the Rancho and went for a visit.
Rancho Los Alamitos translates to ranch of the little cottonwoods, referencing the native trees that grow in the area. By the early 1850s, it had become the largest cattle ranch in the United States, raising vast herds to supply beef during the California Gold Rush. If you visit Long Beach, you can’t help to notice the Bixby name as at one time the family owned much of the land in the area, including this ranch. In 1967 the family donated the ranch’s core historic property, including the ranch house, barns and surrounding gardens to the City of Long Beach and in 1981 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The gardens were designed by three of America’s most famous landscape designers of the twentieth century, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., Florence Yoch and Lucile Council.
Mal and Lauren 