Alta California

In 1784, the largest Spanish land grant in Alta California was awarded to Manuel Nieto. It consisted of 300,000 acres of land and extended from the San Gabriel River to the west and the Santa Ana River on the east. The road from San Gabriel to San Diego, El Camino Real, formed the northern boundary (about where Whittier Boulevard is now), and the Pacific ocean was the boundary on the south. The priests at Mission San Gabriel protested that Nieto's land encroached on theirs, so some acres were pared away, but enough remained that it was still the largest rancho granted. At first it was called La Zanja, but later it was known simply as Rancho Los Nietos. Alta California (Upper California) was formed in 1804 when the province of California, then a part of the Spanish colony of New Spain, was divided in two along the line separating the Franciscan missions in the north from the Dominican missions in the south. ... Jose Manuel Nieto ,1734 - 1804, was a soldier from the Presidio of San Diego who was assigned to the Mission San Gabriel at the time his land was granted by the Spanish Empire in 1784. ... San Gabriel River is the name of watercourses in two states: San Gabriel River (California) San Gabriel River (Texas) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Santa Ana River begins in San Bernardino County, California in the San Bernardino National Forest. ... El Camino Real (Spanish for the Royal or Kings Highway) was the name of a series of pre-automobile highways linking the various New World colonies of Spain: There is an El Camino Real in California; see: El Camino Real (California); that road provoked a Jargon File bilingual homographic... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... A view of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in April, 2005. ...

Today, parts of Long Beach, Lakewood, Downey, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier, Fullerton, Huntington Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Seal Beach, Anaheim, Buena Park, Garden Grove, and many smaller cities including Cerritos are located on what was once the enormous Nieto Rancho. Long Beach is the name of several places: Long Beach, British Columbia, Canada Long Beach, California, United States of America Long Beach, Mississippi, United States of America Long Beach, New York, United States of America Long Beach, Washington, United States of America Long Beach Township, New Jersey, United States of... Lakewood can mean: a place in the United States: Lakewood, California, a city in Los Angeles County, California Lakewood, Colorado, a city in Jefferson County, Colorado Lakewood, Illinois, a village in McHenry County, Illinois Lakewood, New Jersey, a city in Ocean County, New Jersey Lakewood, New York, a village in... Downey can refer to: Downey, California Downey, Idaho This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Norwalk is the name of several places in the United States of America: Norwalk, California - a suburb of Los Angeles Norwalk, Connecticut (the original Norwalk) Norwalk, Iowa Norwalk, Ohio Norwalk, Wisconsin The name can also be used to describe the Norwalk virus. ... Santa Fe Springs is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. ... Whittier may refer to: Whittier, California Whittier, Alaska Whittier, North Carolina Whittier, Minneapolis, Minnesota, neighborhood John Greenleaf Whittier was an American poet and abolitionist This is a disambiguation page — a list of articles associated with the same title. ... Fullerton is the name of several localities in the United States: Fullerton, California Fullerton, Nebraska Fullerton, North Dakota Fullerton, Pennsylvania In education and sports, it may refer to California State University, Fullerton or Fullerton College. ... Huntington Beach is the name of a costal city in the state of California. ... Bolsa Chica State Beach is a public beach managed by the California state parks department. ... Seal Beach is a city in Orange County, California. ... Anaheim is a city in Orange County, south_west California, a part of the greater Los Angeles conurbation to the east of Long Beach. ... Location of Buena Park within Orange County, California. ... There are at least two places named Garden Grove: Garden Grove, California Garden Grove, Iowa This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Cerritos is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. ...

Smaller rancho's were established within the rancho lands through the years including; the Rancho Los Cerritos and the Rancho Los Alamitos, where their main adobe houses still stand today.

references

• City of Cerritos Official home-site, historical section, 3.