Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-14
Remarkable Early Deals i'm Real Estate

able transaction in real estate ever
known took place in the long ago. 1t
was towards the close of the war when
old Senior Sepulveda, the father of the
well known and enormously popular
Judge Ygnaio Sepulveda, now the friend
of President Diaz, and a man of high
standing in the City of Mexico. sold
the San Joaquin rancho, consisting of
between 900 and 60, 900 acres, to Irwin
and Flint for $4,000 in greenbacks,
which were then at Il very heavy dis
count, making the real consideration
a mere bagatelle.
These gentlemen afterwards bought
a great portion of the Santa Ana ranch
for 6212 cents a nacre. The 1ourishing
city of Santa Ana is situated on this
property, as is the town Of Orange.
About this time the Messrs Andrew
G. Glassell and A. h. Chapman bought
from the Yorbas another large slice of
the Santa Ana ranch, for which they
| paid somewhere between 62la cents and
$1.5O an acre.
The lands where the city-sucCe or
to the colony-of Anaheim now stands
were sold to the representative of the
original colonists for 81 or SO an acre
certainly not for more than SO.
The Lugos were another native Cali
fornia family that owned immense
tracts of land, included i'm which is the
celebrated Laguna ranch of 11,000 acres
whose value now is almost priceless, as
it almost Immediately adioins this city
This is now the property of Mrs. Ar
Cadia B. de Baker. The Lugo lands
went i'm those days at figures ranging
from 81 to 50 an acre.
Cheap Prices
Don Abel Stearns. at one time the
husband of Mrs. Arcadia de Baker.
owned lands in the city and county of
Los Angeles that would have been the
equivalent of a good sized German
princpality. Between this and San
Bernardino county his property must
have footed up between 100000 and
300, 900 acres. His possessions, amongst
other unconsidered trifes, embraced
the Los Coyotes, Los AamitoS, Los
Bolsas and many other ranchos of this
county. The great drought of 1S63-64 re-
duced this enterprsing citizen to great
financial straits, which obliged him to
sell the Stearns ranch TO a San Fran
cisco company for 81 an acre, Mr.,
Stearns retaining a one-seventh in
terest. Mr.. Robinson was made trustee.
and for years the sale of these Stearns
ranchos was a leading factor in our
real estate development.
Don Abel Stearns was also a large
owner of city property, notably Of the
spot on which the Baker block stands,
Of the Arcadia block and of other
property The Stearns mansion in the
old days stood where the Baker block
is now. 1t was a large adobe, with a
wing in which was at the time in
which I arrived in Los Angeles the
Wholesale liquor store of Lips &5 Des
Autes Many and many a scene of
gayety had the old 'dobe known in the
old days, when Donna Arcadia was the
wife of Don Abel Stearns and the toast
Of Southern California.
The Alamitos Sale
During the stress of those hard times
the Alamitos ranch was sold under
foreclosure for $4,000 or $1,000. the
original mortgage being for $4,000.
The man who would buy the 2S0O0
acres of the Alamitos ranch now, or
what Is left Of It, would do well to
have his millions well in hand.
The Cerritos ranch, consisting Of
1900 acres, adjoining the AlamitOs,
formed part of the estate of John Tenn
pie, which was sold by Executor
Hinchman to the Bixbys for less than
$4,000. The ranch house. which had
been recently erected and which was
an elegant building for those days, had
itself cost $4,000, left very little for the
land, which is now worth millions.
The ownership Of the San Pedro
ranch was divided up between the
three brothers Dominguez-Manuel
Pedro and Nesereo, Manuel stuck to
his share and it is now owned by his
daughters and the Carson family. One
of these was married to the late John
f. Francis. Pedro and Nesereo sold
their interest at prices ranging from
81 to SO an acre, none Of 1t fetching
more than So.
The town of Compton with it's rich
bottom lands, forms part of the San
Pedro ranch. The old Dominguez
ranch house, standing on the bluff and
surrounded by orange trees, was I'm the
old days one OF the most conspicuous
objects between Los Angeles and VIII
mlngton. 1t has been replaced by the
elegant modern Carson mansion.
The Sausal Redondo and Centinela
rancho was bought by Sir Robert Bur-
nett for less than 81 am acre. and. as
finally surveyed 1t contained some