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Pío Pico Adobe
External views of the Adobe
Historical displays and exhibits
The Pío Pico Adobe has a wealth of information that is presented in displays throughout the house. There are display boards containing biographical data, history of the rancho, quotes from contemporaries, and vintage photographs, as well as furniture and historical artifacts. Below is a sample of what you will see and learn when you visit. |
Pío de Jesus Pico IV
California's Native Son |
Born May 5, 1801 at Mission San Gabriel
Died September 11, 1894 in Los Angeles |
The story of Pío Pico spans nearly a century of California history. Born a poor soldier's son in a frontier Spanish mission, Pico gained wealth and status as a businessman and politician in Mexican Era California -- twice rising to serve as governor of the territory. Pico's power, influence, and wealth continued after California became part of the United States. This well-respected Mexican "Don" was an important leader of his time. It is here at his last home that much can be learned of this fascinating and sometimes controversial historic figure. |
Pío Pico and his Family |
I was born of the 5th of May 1801, at the San Gabriel Mission where my father, José Maria Pico, company corporal of the San Diego garrison, commanded the cavalry. My father was a native of Fuerte, at that time in the province of Sinaloa. My mother's name was María Eustaquia Gutiérrez, a native of San Miguel de Horcasitas in Sonora |
(Pío Pico, Historical Narrative, October 24, 1877 ) |
Pío Pico's family migrated to Alta California in 1775 with the famed de Anza Expedition. The Pico Family ancestry was typical of other settlers from the Mexican frontier whose ethnicity included Spanish, Native American, and African roots. Although his father was only a soldier, Pío Pico and his siblings did well in frontier Mexican California society. His seven sistere married into prominent families and his two brothers were active in the military and in politics. |
Pío Pico's "El Ranchito"
Rancho Paso de Bartolo Viejo was a thriving 19th Century
ranching community. Pio Pico began acquiring this land,
originally part of the Mission San Gabriel, in 1848. The
smallest of his many landholdings, Don Pío
nicknamed his 8,893 acre ranch "El Ranchito" (the little
ranch). Pico's adobe home was at El Ranchito's center.
North of the adobe (across present-day Whittier Boulevard)
was El Ranchito's Settlement, home to many of Don
pío's workers and their families.
Today, Pío Pico State Historical Park includes only a few acres of Pico's original rancho. The survival of the Pico Adobe and the reconstruction of the ranch landscape offer a glimpse of the past and help us remember people who came before us. |
The Value of Water |
Water was the life source and an economic commodity
in the success of El Ranchito. Pico used simple brush
dams and unlined ditches (zanjas) to create
an intricate irrigation system throughout his ranch.
Wavy lines on historic maps indicate where river water
was brought to irrigate the fields and orchards of the
dry ranch landscape.
Water was El Ranchito's lifeblood, and obtaining it drove many to desperate actions. Pico spent large amounts of time and money in court protecting his water rights. In one such case, several neighbors... |
...were commanded to refrain...from destroying, throwing down, or in any manner interfering with any dam which (Pico) may erect in the River San Gabriel on the lands of the "Paso de Bartolo Viejo" belonging to him... |
(Judgement, Pico vs. Cyrus A. Gray and O.R. Parsons, 1859) |
The Power of Water
Water was essential at El Ranchito, yet it could also be
destructive. Pico's network of dams and ditches served
well in bringing water to the arid land. It also proved
to be an easy route for overflowing during flood episodes
in 1867 and 1883-84.
|
...a good deal of land was swept away, and crumbled into the angry flood, and with it went one wing of the old Governor's house. The house now stands upon the very brink of the river, but levees have been built to protect the banks from further inroads. |
(Los Angeles Times, February 12, 1891) |
Welcome to the Ball!
Parties, customs, and hospitality of Old California were legendary throughout the 19th Century. Don Pico and his family hosted colorful balls (bailes ) with singing, dancing, and socializing. Such festivities at the Pico Adobe centered around the parlor (sala) and the adjoining patio. Pico Americanized his parlor by way of furnishings, wall coverings, and modern conveniences, but the hospitality was purely Californio. |
There is a nice large parlor - carpeted -, and to my surprise, a modern piano with a handsome Rosewood frame and very good tone. |
- Eliza Johnson, January 1870 |
Pío Pico, Businessman
Don Pico was legendary as a man of great wealth and lavish spending habits. Although land rich, Pico was often cash poor due to an unstable banking system, risky investments, and outstanding debts. Pico was noted for his extravagant lifestyle that included fine clothes, expensive furnishings, and a fondness for gambling. While his early financial successes were countered by losses in later years, Pío Pico was a pioneering entrepreneur in both Mexican and American California. |
Pío Pico, Ranchero
Pío Pico once owned more land than any other
individual in Southern California. During the 1850s,
Pico was in possession of the ex-Mission San Fernando
and several ranchos, totaling more than half a million
acres of land.
Like most Californios, Pío Pico suffered greatly trying to prove legal title to his land as required in the new American courts. These cases were expensive to defend and sometimes took decades to clear. Of all the vast ranch lands that he owned, the Rancho Paso de Bartolo was the one that Pico held onto the longest until his final court case was lost, and so was his home at El Ranchito. |
Interior views of the Adobe
The Park Grounds
The Park grounds are being developed to display the types of activities that would take place on the rancho. There are areas designated for corrals, crops, orchards, gardens, and a vineyard. |
The Pío Pico Adobe is located in Pío Pico State Historic Park, at Pioneer and Whittier Boulevards, in Whittier. See map. |
Items of Interest...
Related Links |
Pio Pico State Historic Park - State Parks official site |
Pio Pico State Historic Park |
Pio de Jesus Pico - San Diego History Center |
Pio Pico - Last Governor of Mexican California |
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