Rancho Los Cerritos

Rancho Los Cerritos (Little Hills Ranch)
4600 Virginia Road
Long Beach, California

The ghost of an ornery foreman
is said to haunt the two-story adobe house.
Ghosthunter Richard Senate writes there
are psychics who are fearful of this site
(Haunted Southland, p. 20).

"Los Cerritos Ranchhouse has been designated
a registered national historic landmark."
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service, 1970

The City of Long Beach also recognizes
RLC as a historic city landmark.

Photos copyright © October 2009 Kat Avila
Time: mid-afternoon / Camera: Canon SD780 IS
Notes: You cannot use flash photography.

"The 27,000-acre rancho was once part of an 18th century
[1784] Spanish land grant to soldier Manuel Nieto [José
Manuel Perez Nieto]. The Monterey-style adobe was
constructed in 1844* and served the Temple and Bixby
families as headquarters for large-scale cattle
and sheep ranching operations in the 19th century.
In the 1880s the land was subdivided for farming and
city development."

California registered historical landmark no. 978 (in 1988)

*An earlier adobe was built circa 1835 by Nieto's daughter
Manuela and her husband Guillermo Cota, per RLC website.

Entrance and Inner Courtyard
visitor center	The walkway runs past the foreman's room, storeroom, and blacksmith shop.	view of inner courtyard from the sunporch	garden pool	waterspray from the stone frog's mouth
Foreman's Room and the Storeroom
		hurricane lantern and branding iron	hanging wooden candle chandelier	storeroom exhibit
Parlor, Hallway, and Stairs
		hallway mirror reflecting the stairs	hallway mirror reflecting part of the hall	stairs to the balcony and bedrooms
Dining Room
	teapot/kettle on stand and oil lamp	teapot/kettle on stand with wooden handle and burner	I was enchanted by the light pattern.	The light projection on the ceiling was cool, too.

Balcony: As I was about to reach the top of the stairs, a strong breeze latched the balcony door shut, which drew my attention to it, so I explored the balcony first before the bedrooms.
from the right side facing the lawn area	from the left side facing the lawn area		view of red roof tiles and inner courtyard

Bedrooms
parents' bedroom	A bedroom window is reflected in the frame.	window in the children's bedroom	porcelain pitcher and basin	wooden horse tricycle

Lawn Area and Gardens
	approaching the house from the side gardens	wooden water tower

front yard view of house	Rancho Los Alamitos (Little Cottonwoods Ranch), 6400 E. Bixby Hill Rd., Long Beach, Calif. The original Nieto family adobe was built in the early 1800s. The house and Cal State Long Beach overlay the Tongva (aka Gabrielino) sacred site of Puvungna, which includes burial grounds. Photos copyright © October 2009 Kat Avila / Time: mid-afternoon / Camera: Canon SD780 IS Notes: The ranch is in a gated community. Enter at E. Anaheim Rd. and Palo Verde Ave. Tell the guard you are visiting the museum. You cannot take photos inside the house.			porch light and sheep horns
Free guided house tours start from the office.	office sign	inner courtyard	Secret Garden	garden retreat area
sundial and rose garden	sundial It's 3 o'clock exactly.	sundial	walkway to cutting garden	cutting garden with a special receptacle for cut flowers
statue in Friendly Garden	tennis court	walkway next to tennis court	Native Garden	The barn area was under renovation, which is why you see the "CAUTION" tape.
Stanley Ranch Museum and Historical Village, 12174 Euclid St., Garden Grove, California / Photos copyright © October 2009 Kat Avila The site was closed to visitors when I arrived, but there were maintenance workers who told me there were docent-led tours twice a month. A caretaker was once visited at night by a ghost who told him, "You know who I am. Don't take any bullshit." Others have heard a baby crying in the house. (source: May, HHWG, p. 35)
The 1972 memorial plaque by the sign lists local men who died in combat during WWII.	Ware-Stanley House (built 1892)	garden statue and gazebo	tank house (circa 1910), wind vane, and bell	wind vane