Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-14
i(Written for The Herald by Joseph D
Lynch)

When the great movement of settle
ment in Southern California began
about thirty years ago there were some
pretty good sized farms in this end of
the state. In our neghboring county
of Kern the Haggin e Carr ranch of
four hundred and eighty thousand
acres made a considerable break in the
landscape The three million six hun
dred thousand acres which then COM
posed Los Angeles county (Orange
county has since been taken from iD
were divided up into ranches of great
magnitude in many cases. No such
farms were known on the continent
outside of a few in Texas, Arizona and
New Mexico, and Old Mexico.
1t is almost incredible the increase in
values which have been recorded in
this grand acreage of Los Angeles
county. If these properties had been
held by their owners until today mil
lionaires and multimillionaires would
have been numbered amongst the
native Californians and early settlers;
like old Don Juan Warner, for in
stance.
Take Don Pho Pico, the last of the
Mexican governors, as an example.
That grand old caballero, whose death
is quite recent, had the somewhat
melancholy consciousness in his de-
clining years that, if he had held on to
his possessions. he would have ranked
with the Vanderblts and Astors. The
old ex-governor had always an insa-
tiate appetite for litigation and he was
also an hidalgo of the high ola kind.
He is said to have lost $50. 900 on a
single horse on the Los Angeles course
in his palmy days and to have greeted
the award with genial smile
A Pico Sale
In 1865 Pico sold the superb Santa
Margarita ranch, which lies just across
the Los Angeles line in San Diego
county, for 100000, payable in ten an
nual installments of $4,000 each. The
ranch consisted of 100000 acres. In 1873
or 1874 Pico got into a litigation over
this same Santa Margarita ranch with
Don Juan Forster. At the opening of
the controversy Don Juan offered to
settle the dispute by the payment to
Pico of $4,000 The old gentleman was
so attached to law suits that he re-
jected the compromise, lost the suit
and probably spent 200 in lawyers
fees and costs of process in addition.
During his later years he passed with
an acreship running up to the hun
dreds OF thousands and even the Pico
house slipped from his grasp.
Beginning with the northern end Of
Los Angeles county there are some
interesting notes of the old rancheros
and their estates. The old San Fer
nando mission property was owned by
Gen. Andres Pico and Eulogio f. de
Cells, each having between 10000 and
10000 acres. Pico sold his portion Of
this splendid property for about 81 an
acre to the late Isaac Lankershim. That
gentleman In turn sold it TO the Los
Angeles Milling company for a figure
which / do not recollect, but which
Il - IL IL Il.
on that sum. De Cells sold his large
holding to the Hon. Charles Maclay
and the Porters, the price realized be-
ing in the neighborhood of $3.50 an
acre.
Great Increase
None of these lands can now he pur-
chased on an average, rough and
smooth, of less than 800 an acre They
were found TO be superb wheat and
barley lands. In successive stages of
development they were found splendidly
adapted to the cultivation of the vine
orange, lemon and olive. The largest
olive orchard in the world is on a por-
tion of these magnificent San Fernando
mission lands which, thirty years ago,
were supposed to be nearly worthless
Extensive portions of this domain are
now supplied with water in pipes and
several flourishing towns and settle
ments are on them.
The old mission buildings in which,
for so many years, old Gen. Pico held
a sort of barOnial court, were allowed
to fall to pieces. 1t should be added
that memorials of these elegant gen
tleman's empiry over the old monastic
abode We're found in great abundance.
Enough empty champagne bottles TO
supply champagne mandatory at
Rheims for year or more We're left
as testimony OF the unstinted hos
pitality which had been administered
for some brief but glorious years by
the Mexican general aud the Spanish
don.
Remarkable Deal
Dropping down TO the southern end
OF the county about the most remark