Pio Pico's El Ranchito - Home of a Most Remarkable Man

One more item checked off of my "things to do" list:  Visiting Pio Pico State Historic Park, one of the first historic parks established in California.  The 5 acre park is a remnant of the original 8,894 acre tract purchased by Pio Pico in 1850.  It was a small parcel of land compared to his other landholdings in the San Fernando Valley, San Diego County and Rancho Santa Margarita.  At the time of purchase, it contained a small adobe dwelling.  Pico named it "El Ranchito" or Little Ranch.  He added on to the adobe until it became a sprawling 33 room mansion with outbuildings, orchards, crops and fields. What is left today is modest in comparison.  However, it packs in a great experience of education and understanding of a segment of California history that spans the timeline from Spanish to Mexican and finally American control.  Pio Pico was a prominent part of that history and this park is a great place to start learning about it.

The Park is located just west of I-605 off of Whitter Blvd. in Whittier.  Back then, it was located very close to the Camino Real (the road that linked the 21 missions of Alta California) and the San Gabriel River, about 9 miles south of the San Gabriel Mission.  El Ranchito is where Pico chose to live after the Mexican-American War ended and the territory sold to the U.S.

The gate to the park leads up to what was the back of the house. The path to the entrance is to the right. The handsome gentleman standing in the shade is my husband and fellow explorer.

The approach to the entrance of the house takes you first to a room that was used for storage.  The signs (posted in English and Spanish throughout the house) indicate that the present flooring is higher than the original flooring.  More about flooring later.

Once you get inside, find a docent who can take you to the "theatre" room (actually, part of the original adobe) to view a 15 minute video about the life of Pio Pico.  The documentary set us up for an enhanced experience of the adobe and the grounds.  After the video, there is plenty of signage with pictures and historical perspective.  This is definitely a "teaching" park with emphasis on educating youngsters about life in those days.  There is even a wooden wheel barrel which contains hoops and sticks and other toys from the pre-video and -internet days.  Guests are welcome to use them to play with, like the family that we saw when we first arrived.

As we went from room to room reading about Pio Pico's life, it dawned on me what a remarkable man that he was.  He went from poverty to wealth and power and ended up dying bankrupt.  He was governor of Mexican California (the province of Alta California) first in 1832 at the age of 31 and then again in 1845 at the age of 44.  He was born at the San Gabriel Mission in 1801 and died 93 years later in Los Angeles.  In between, he seemed to be at the leading edge of whatever was happening at the time.  As a wealthy Californio (as he identified himself), he lived the good life, acquiring vast tracts of land and enjoying the privileges of the rich and powerful.  When the Gold Rush began after the Mexican-American War and Americans came to California in droves, Pico embraced the change and continued his success. He was not universally liked and was certainly controversial, made some bad decisions along with good ones,  but was not to be ignored.

A most remarkable man

We had the luck of meeting Julie, who runs the educational programs as part of her labor of love there.  She shared her knowledge of the adobe and the context in which it was built.  As she led us to the dining room area, she mentioned that the wood plank floors were from the 1940's and that the original floor was a couple of feet below it and was packed dirt.  It surprised me to hear that a wealthy owner would have a dirt floor in his home instead of tile or wood.  After questioning her, Julie told me that they would mix the dirt with cow blood, smooth it over and let it dry to a hard surface.  You could have knocked me over with a feather as I had never heard of this before.  This was the highlight of my day.  I did the research and verified that the pioneers used this method to get a dark flooring that held down the dust and was cleaned by sweeping. (Note to my daughter:  I am being mindful of not being a disseminator of misinformation!)

I was having a tough time getting a feel for the layout of the house as the rooms are strung together in a way that made me lose my bearings.  That's when we went outside to explore the perimeter and the grounds.

The front and side of the adobe. Note the western store front on the 2nd story and the dormer windows. Pico liked the look of American architecture and incorporated it into his home.

The dormer windows face what would have been the front yard.  The yard now contains examples of plantings that would have been there back in the rancho days:  lemon, orange, fig and pomegranate trees, lavender and prickly pear cactus with grape vines further out toward the former gully which once brought water to the house for washing.  Water for drinking and cooking came from a well on the back patio.  Beyond the gully is the San Gabriel River.

There was once a covered porch on the front of the house.

Another shot of the front and other side of the house.  A red-blossomed pomegranate bush is on the right.

A grape arbor marks where the Camino Real (King's Road) was located close to the house.

Horno

The horno is a wood-fired mud adobe-built outdoor oven.  Julie told us that there was not a room designated as the kitchen in the house.  There were rooms to store food and implements and then all of the cooking was done outside using the horno.  At certain times of the year, she and volunteers will have bread baking exhibitions and serve preserves made from the fruits harvested from the park plants.

Side of the house.  The horno is located on the left just out of sight of the photo.

The dovecote located at the back corner near the horno.

A sign showing a layout of the park.  You can see the footprint of the adobe.

All in all, it was a most enjoyable 2 hours spent learning and exploring.  I am not able to provide photos of the interior since flash photography is not allowed.  There were good examples of bedrooms, the dining room (with Pico's original table!) and the salon.  I highly recommend the visit, especially as it is presently (May 2011) on a list of parks that Governor Brown is recommending be closed due to the budget pickle the State is in.

After our visit, we went to a nearby Mexican restaurant that Julie recommended to us and enjoyed the local flavor.  Check out the park's website at www.picopio.org.  There is a ton of information about Pio Pico and his era as well as a list of events.  ENJOY!