Rancho Los Cerritos Field Trip and Facts

Have you ever imagined how life was back in the day at Rancho Los Cerritos? It was pretty interesting and different from now. I am going to tell you what I learned on my field trip to Ranch Los Cerritos.

I had a lot of fun of my amazing field trip. I am going to tell you all about my field trip. When I got to Rancho Los Cerritos our tour guide told us that Rancho Los Cerritos is also known as the “Ranch of the little hills”. When Mrs. Bixby (a person that owns the ranch) came out she told us that we would clap our hands and pretend to go back in time. She told us that we were going to split into groups and go to different stations and switch.

 The first station I went to was Mrs. Newmark’s station. We learned about how life was way back in history like about the Tongva VS how life is in the late 1900 going into the 2000. We also looked at cool photographs and got to see the thing they used to grid corn.

The next station I went to was Mr. Bixby’s station (I think) well anyways we got to see the Bixby’s house, the kitchen, the washing clothes machine, and Mrs. Bixby’s room.

The following station I went to was to a chores station (I forgot the name of the person). We did tin punch which is drawing a design on a piece of tin foil and then using a hammer and nail to follow the pattern to make a punch design. We also learned songs that they used to sing.

The last station I went to was Mr. M Bixby’s station. He showed us different plants in his garden and the use of it. I also got to play games that they played back in the day.

Lastly, We ate lunch at the picnic tables.

The next part is about some of the facts I learned about Rancho Los Cerritos.

To begin with, I will be telling you about the First Inhabitants. In 1930 eleven cogged stones were discovered at Rancho Los Cerritos. Did you know the Tongva was known as the Gabrelino? There are now many villages in greater Los Angeles.

Secondly, I am going to tell you what happened between the dates 1784-1866. Manuel Nieto’s daughter Manuela Cota received the area known as Rancho Los Cerritos. She and her husband Guillermo built at least 2 adobes on the land, they also raised 12 children. John Temple was born in December of 1843 and some trees from his time still exist!

Lastly, you are going to read about the time 1866-1955. As many as 30,000 sheep were kept at the ranch and sheared twice yearly to provide wool for trade. Eventually, Bellflower, Paramount, Signal Hill, and Lakewood were founded as well on Los Cerrito’s lands. After Llewellyn,Sr.’s death, the family eventually sold the house and 4.7 acres of land to the city of Long Beach.

To conclude, you just read interesting facts about Rancho Los Cerritos. Did you think the first Inhabitants, 1784-1866, and 1866-1955 were interesting? I think it was very interesting and fun to learn. And my field trip is something that I would not forget