Rancho Los Nietos was one of the first, and the largest, Spanish land concession in

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

. Located in present-day

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

and Orange County,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Rancho Los Nietos was awarded to Manuel Nieto in 1784. After an appeal by the San Gabriel Mission padres, Rancho Los Nietos was later reduced and Rancho Paso de Bartolo was once again a possession of the mission. The rest of the rancho remained intact until 1834, when Governor Jose Figueroa officially declared the Rancho Los Nietos grant under Mexican rule and ordered its partition into six smaller ranchos. Today, all parts of the following places are located on what was once Rancho Los Nietos, spanning the cities of Southeast LA and north Orange County: *

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

* Artesia * Bellflower * Buena Park * Bolsa Chica State Beach— Bolsa Chica Reserve * Cerritos *

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

* Downey * Fullerton * Garden Grove *

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as o ...

* Lakewood *

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

* Los Alamitos * Los Nietos *

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

* Norwalk *

Santa Fe Springs Santa Fe Springs (''Santa Fe'', Spanish for "Holy Faith") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is one of the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. The population was 19,219 at the 2020 census, up from 16,22 ...

* Seal Beach * Sunset Beach * Whittier

History

Spanish grant

In 1784, Spanish governor

Pedro Fages Pedro Fages (1734–1794) was a Spanish soldier, explorer, and first lieutenant governor of the province of the Californias under Gaspar de Portolá. Fages claimed the governorship after Portolá's departure, acting as governor in opposition ...

granted to Manuel Nieto, a former sergeant in the Spanish army, provisional use of all land between the

Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino and Riversid ...

and the

Los Angeles River The Los Angeles River (), historically known as by the Tongva and the by the Spanish, is a major river in Los Angeles County, California. Its headwaters are in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and it flows nearly from Canoga Park ...

from the

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Mission San Gabriel Arcángel () is a Californian mission and historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. It was founded by the Spanish Empire on the Nativity of Mary September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become twenty-one Spanish mi ...

to the sea. The original grant was , but the San Gabriel Mission contested the Los Nietos grant on the grounds that it encroached upon the southern portion of its property. A decision in favor of the mission was reached and Rancho Los Nietos was reduced to nearly half of its original size, but still leaving Corporal Nieto with . At first it was called La Zanja, but later it was known simply as Rancho Los Nietos. Upon Manuel Nieto's death in 1804, Rancho Los Nietos passed to his wife and four children.

Mexican declaration and partition

The rancho remained intact until 1833, when the Nieto heirs petitioned Mexican Governor José Figueroa for a partition and distribution of the land. In 1834, governor Figueroa officially declared the Los Nietos grant under Mexican rule and ordered its partition into six smaller ranchos. HARRISON v. ULRICHS et al., (Circuit Court, Southern District California, August 12, 1889)
/ref> Rancho Palo Alto was the smallest of the six ranchos. It is unknown exactly where or how large was Rancho Palo Alto as it did not appear on the partition map. It included the Coyote Hills and most of the Arroyo de los Coyotes, and may have been combined into Rancho Los Coyotes.

Legacy

Los Nietos Road in Santa Fe Springs and the unincorporated community known as West Whittier-Los Nietos are named after the rancho.

References

{{coord, 33.86, -118.01, region:US-CA, display=title Los Nietos History of Los Angeles County, California History of Orange County, California History of Long Beach, California 1784 in The Californias 1784 establishments in The Californias Anaheim, California Buena Park, California Cerritos, California Cypress, California Downey, California Fullerton, California Garden Grove, California Lakewood, California Norwalk, California Santa Fe Springs, California Whittier, California 18th century in Los Angeles Ranchos of Los Angeles County, California