🏰🌳 Hidden Gem in the City | Uncovering a Century-Old Secret Estate

Another ultra-niche Los Angeles attraction that hasn't been thoroughly introduced yet! Today, we're exploring the 23rd spot in the Los Angeles 100 series - Rancho Los Alamitos, where you can immerse yourself in the fundamental farm life of 200 years ago. 📍 Rancho Los Alamitos is located in Long Beach and has a history dating back to 1790. After several divisions, the remaining 7.5-acre estate is now a free museum and park. It includes a barn, stables, numerous gardens, farm houses, and a tennis court that serve as museums. The land and buildings were donated to the city of Long Beach by the children of rancher Fred Bixby in the 1960s and have since been open to the public as a museum. 🌻The main building on the farm, the Ranch House, was originally built in 1804 as a simple adobe house with four rooms. Over time, it expanded and added a second story, gradually evolving into a large farmhouse. The residence includes a living room with a billiards table, a dining room, a Christmas room, bedrooms, servants' quarters, and more. The interior has perfectly preserved the state in which the Bixby family lived from 1878 to 1968. 🌻This land, before becoming a ranch, was the nomadic land of the indigenous Tongva tribe in the United States. After the Spanish occupation of California, it was divided into the Los Coyote ranch, owned by Juan Jose Nieto. It was transferred to then-California Governor Jose Figueroa in 1833 and sold to Albel Stearns in 1842. Stearns, who became an orphan at the age of 12, sailed the South American route and even came to China. When his ship stopped in California, he decided to settle here, made a fortune by selling cattle, and bought the ranch. Due to natural disasters, Stearns could no longer maintain the ranch in 1865, and it changed hands several times before being purchased by carpenter John Bixby in 1878. ⛳️After John's death, his children divided the approximately 106-square-kilometer ranch. John's son, Fred Bixby, received 3,600 acres (15 square kilometers) with the Ranch House. The Bixby family operated the ranch by raising cattle, making dairy products, and planting beets in the early days, and the discovery of oil after 1921 brought even more wealth to the family. Fred was the last owner of the ranch, and during his lifetime, he donated most of the land to the city for urban development. The remaining 7.5-acre farm, donated by his children in 1968, is now a public museum. 🌿The museum offers a 45-minute free guided tour, taking visitors inside the Ranch House, but photography is prohibited. The farm still raises horses, sheep, chickens, ducks, and other animals. In addition to the buildings, the farm has several gardens that immerse visitors in the farm life of 200 years ago. #WeekendGetaway #EscapeTheCity #LosAngeles #ArchitecturalHistory #FamilyOuting #CulturalHeritage #MotorcycleRiding