Rancho Tujunga

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Mexican land grant in California

title: "Rancho Tujunga" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["history-of-los-angeles", "history-of-the-san-fernando-valley", "crescenta-valley", "lake-view-terrace,-los-angeles", "sunland-tujunga,-los-angeles", "1840-establishments-in-alta-california", "ranchos-of-los-angeles-county,-california"] description: "Mexican land grant in California" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rancho_Tujunga" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Mexican land grant in California ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox former subdivision"]

FieldValue
native_nameRancho Tujunga
conventional_long_name
common_nameRancho Tujunga
subdivisionLand grant
nationMexico
government_typeLand grant
title_leaderGrantee
title_deputy
leader1Francisco Lopez and Pedro Lopez
year_leader11845-1875
coordinates
political_subdiv
todayUnited States
year_start1845
year_end1875
::

|native_name = Rancho Tujunga |conventional_long_name = |common_name = Rancho Tujunga |subdivision = Land grant |nation = Mexico |government_type = Land grant |title_leader = Grantee |title_deputy = |leader1 = Francisco Lopez and Pedro Lopez |year_leader1 = 1845-1875 |coordinates = |political_subdiv = |today = United States | year_start = 1845 |year_end = 1875

Rancho Tujunga was a 6661 acre Mexican land grant in the western Crescenta Valley and northeastern San Fernando Valley, in present-day Los Angeles County, California. It was granted in 1840 by Mexican governor Juan Alvarado to Francisco Lopez and Pedro Lopez.

The rancho lands included the present-day Los Angeles communities of Lake View Terrace, Sunland, and Tujunga.

Etymology

The name Tujunga or Tuxunga means "old woman's place" in both Fernandeño and Gabrieliño, where Tuxu means "old woman". The term is thought to relate to an ethnohistoric narrative, known as Khra'wiyawi, collected by Carobeth Laird from Juan and Juana Menendez at the Leonis Adobe in 1916. In the narrative, the wife of Khra'wiyawi (the chief of the region) is stricken with grief over the untimely loss of her daughter. In her sadness, she retreats to the mountains and turns to stone. It is thought this event became the basis for the village name. In fact, there is a large rock in Little Tujunga Canyon which looks like an old woman in a sitting position.

History

The Mexican government made the land grant to brothers Francisco and Pedro Lopez in 1840. Francisco Lopez is the individual who discovered gold in Placerita Canyon in 1842.

In 1845 the Lopez brothers traded the 6661 acre Rancho Tujunga for the 388 acre Rancho Cahuenga owned by Miguel Triunfo, an Indian who had been employed at San Fernando Mission. In 1850, Triunfo sold a half-interest in Rancho Tujunga back to Francisco Lopez, and then sold the other half-interest to Los Angeles merchants David W. Alexander and Francis Mellus. In 1851, Francisco Lopez sold his half-interest to Agustin Olvera.

With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Tujunga was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant was patented to Alexander, Mellus and Olvera in 1874.

Alexander and Mellus sold their half-interest to Olvera in 1856. In 1875, Olvera sold the entire Rancho Tujunga to Andrew Glassell. There was further legal dispute about the boundaries in 1888.

Historic sites of the Rancho

References

References

  1. Ogden Hoffman, 1862, ''Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California'', Numa Hubert, San Francisco
  2. Pitarre, Alyson. "Where country living sidles up to the city." ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. June 12, 2005. [http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/communities/la-re-guide12jun12,0,1014385.story?coll=la-realestate-communities 1]. Retrieved on March 19, 2010.
  3. [http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/hb2s2004bf/?&brand=oac Diseño del Rancho Tujunga]
  4. "Map of old Spanish and Mexican ranchos in Los Angeles County".
  5. King, Chester. Overview of the History of American Indians in the Santa Monica Mountains. Rep. Topanga, California: Topanga Anthropological Consultants, 2011. Print. Prepared for the National Park Service Pacific West Region Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
  6. "Ethnohistoric Overview for the Santa Susana Pass State Historic Park Cultural Resources Inventory Project".
  7. Sarah R. Lombard, 1990, ''Rancho Tujunga: A History of Sundland-Tujunga, California. Sunland, CA'', Sunland Woman's Club
  8. Marlene A. Hitt, 2002,''Sunland and Tujunga: From Village to City'', Arcadia Publishing, {{ISBN. 978-0-7385-2377-4
  9. [http://digicoll.lib.berkeley.edu/record/266089 United States. District Court (California : Southern District) 52 SD]
  10. [http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/hb109nb422/ Finding Aid to the Documents Pertaining to the Adjudication of Private Land Claims in California, circa 1852-1892]
  11. [http://www.slc.ca.gov/Misc_Pages/Historical/Surveyors_General/reports/Willey_1884_1886.pdf Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886] {{webarchive. link. (2009-05-04)
  12. [http://openjurist.org/35/f1d/248 Hughes v Cawthorn]
  13. "Adobe house on the Rancho Tujunga property, circa 1956".

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history-of-los-angeleshistory-of-the-san-fernando-valleycrescenta-valleylake-view-terrace,-los-angelessunland-tujunga,-los-angeles1840-establishments-in-alta-californiaranchos-of-los-angeles-county,-california