Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-04

and barley lands, yielding abundant
crops. Portions of this dom ain are now
supplied with water in pipes, and several
fourisking towns and settlements are To-
Gated on them. The old mission build
ings, in which for SO many years General
Pico held sort OF baronial court, have
been allowed to fall to pieces.
Dropping down to the southern end OF
the county, about the most remarkable
transaction in real estate ever known iu
this section took place. 1t was about
the close of the war when old Sei1or
Sepulveda, the father of Judge Ygnaclo
Sepulveda, sold the San Joaquin ranch,
consisting of between $4,000 and 10000
acres, to Irvine and Flint, for $27 900 in
greenbacks, which were then at very
heavy discount, making the real con-
sideration probably less than $4,000 in
gold coin. These gentlemen afterwards
bought great part of the Santa Ana ranch
for 621a cents an acre. The f1ourishing
city OF Santa Ana is situated on this
property, as is also the town OF Orange.
About this time the Messrs. Andrew
G. Glassell and A. B. Chapman bought
from the Yorbas another large slice of
the Santa Ana ranch, for which they
paid somewhere between CPS cents and
81 80 an acre.
The lands where the colony of Anaheim
now stands were sold to the representa-
tive of the original colonist for 81 or $3
an acre-certainly not more than So.
The Lugos were another native Cali
fornia family that owned immense tracts
of land, included in which was the cele
brated Laguna ranch OF some eleven
thousand acres, whose value now is al
most priceless, as it Immediately adjoins
the city. This is now the property of
Mrs. Arcadia B. de Baker. The Lugo
lands went in those days for figures
ranging between 81 and 50 an acre.
Don Abel Stearn5 at one time owned
lands in Los Angeles county which
would have made good sized German
principality. Between this and San
Bernardino county his possessions must
have footed up between 100000 and
100000 acres. His possession en-
braced the Los Coyotes, Los Alamitos,
Los Bolsas and many other ranches
in this county. The great drouth of
1S63-64 reduced this enterprising citizen
to great financial straits, which obliged
him to sell the Stearns Rancho to San
Francisco company for 81 an acre, Mr..
Stearns retaining a one-seventh interest.
Mr.. Robinson was made trustee, and for
years the sales of these Stearns ranches
was leading factor in our real estate
development. During the stress of these
hard times the Alamitos ranch was sold
under foreclosure for $4,000 or $27 900,
the original mortgage being for SIS, 900.
The man who would buy the 28, 900 acres
of the Alamitos ranch now would do we'll
to have his hundreds OF thousands we'll
in hand.
The Cerritos ranch, contsining $4,000
acres, formed part of the estate of John
Temple, to which we alluded Yesterday,
and it was sold by Executor Hinchman
to the Bixbys for less than $25, 900. The
ranch house, which had been recently
erected, and which was an elegant
building for those days, had itself cost
$l5,0 1000, which left precious little for
the land.
The ownership OF the San Pedro ranch
was divided up between the three
brothers. Dominguez, Manuel, Pedro and
Nesareo. Manuel stuck to his share,
and it is now owned by his daughters.
Pedro and Nesareo sold their interest at
prices ranging from 81 to $5-none of it
fetching more than So. The town Of
Compton, with all its rich bottom lands,
formed part of the San Pedro ranch.
The Ssusal Redondo and Centinela
rancho was bought by Sir Francis Ben
nett for less than 81 an acre and, as
finally surveyed, it contained some whore
in the neighborhood of 27 900 acres. Sir
Francis afterwards sold it to Mr.. d. Free
man for about So so an acre. Mr.. Free
man has since sold large portions of it to
| tho TpO1ouOO1 ond podouJo o..
panies and other parties at figures which
have yielded him close upon So 1000, 900.
| A CURIOUS CHAPTER.
In 1875 the banking firm of Temple &
Workman was supposed to be the richest
institution, and the members of the firm
the richest men in Southern California.
In September of that year the Bank OF
California failed, and its failure was fol-
lowed very shortly by that of the Tenn
pie & Workman Bank of Los Angeles.
The firm had immensely valuable
ranches, including the Puente, La Mer-
ced, San Felipe Lugo, and city property
valued at anywhere from $3.50, 900 to half
million dollars. VIM. Workman owned
at least twenty-six thousand and Temple
twenty thousand acres of the best lands
in Los Angeles county. Temple posted
up to San Francisco and borrowed
| $780, 900 from Mr.. e. j. Baldwin, and
re-opened his bank, giving q mortgsce on
the total possessions of Temple and Work.
man. He weathered the storm for few
months, when he was again Obliged to
close the doors of the bank, with liabili-
ties OF eleven hundred thousand dollars.
The partners and bank were thrown into
bankruptcy; and the Temple & Work
man, now the Newmark block, other
city property and all these splendid
ranches, were acquired by Baldwin in
satisfaction of his 100000 mortgage,
the creditors of the bank and of the
individuals getting not cent. This
property was richly worth then SO ,0OO,-
600, and a moderate estimate of its value
now would not be far from $40 900, 900.
These ranches, together with the Santa
Anita, which the Newmarks had bought
for $50 900 and sold to Baldwin for 5000
900, the San Francisquito and Cienega
ranches, make Mr.. Baldwin the largest
taxpayer in Los Angeles county. They
constitute the finest and most valuable
estate in the State of California.
The Santa Monica y San Vicente
rancho was purchased by Col. r. s.
Baker from one of the Sepulvedas for
less than $3.50 an acre. Col. Baker
afterwards sold three-fourths of the 35.-
OO0 acres OF which 1t consists to Senator
John P. Jones for nearly $500 900, the
transaction taking place in 1874.
Inc three largest taxpayers in Los
Hwkw +. ~