The Los Angeles Times had an interesting article today about the founders of the El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula, otherwise known as Los Angeles. In particular, the article was about Robert Earle Lopez, who investigated his relationship to the founding, which was through Luis Manuel Quintero, one of the original settlers — or pobladores — who founded the city on Sept. 4, 1781. Quintero was the son of a black slave. In fact, more than half of the city’s original settlers traced all or part of their heritage to Africa.
The article noted that in 1826, Lopez’s great-great-great grandfather, Claudio Lopez, was the mayor. Claudio’s son, Esteban Lopez, owned much of the land that is now Boyle Heights. Esteban’s son, Francisco “Chico” Lopez, made a fortune as a cattle rancher; and Chico’s son Frank — Robert Earle Lopez’s grandfather– became one of the city’s first auditors. In 1838, Marie Rita Valdez, another ancestor, was granted the deed for what is now Beverly Hills. Francisco Lopez, a distant cousin, discovered gold while digging for wild onions at the foot of an oak tree in Placerita Canyon, six years before the 1848 find at Sutter’s Mill sparked the California gold rush.
What caught my eye, however, was the note that for more than 55 years, Lopez and his wife Margaret have lived in the same modest house in Westchester where they raised five children and stored memorabilia stretching over eight generations. Westchester. Where I grew up.
This brought back memories of a famous farm stand that used to exist at 12681 W Jefferson Blvd, long before Playa Vista was the dream in anyone’s eye. Lopez Ranch. I can’t find any data on it online, but I remember what happened to the ranch was the subject of an intense family feud when the matriarch of the family died… leading to the death of the farm stand. But while it existed, it was the best place on the west side of Los Angeles to get fresh corn and fresh vegetables. Yum!
So what happened to the ranch? All I could find online was this tidbit:
The Lopez Ranch, whose sweet corn first developed a enthusiastic following before World War II, has closed, and the acreage, between bustling Marina Del Rey and the old Hughes Aircraft site in the Ballona Wetlands, will be developed. The signature corn, grown at other sites, is still available at Charlie Lopez’s Produce Stall at the historic Farmer’s Market at 3rd & Fairfax. .
…and alas, that stall died in the 2002 remake of the Farmer’s Market.
Amazing what triggers the memories…
