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The Rocha adobe, located at 2400 Shenandoah Street in the western part of Los Angeles, was built in 1865 by Jose Antonio Rocha II. This story and a half adobe is situated in what was the center of a Spanish land grant known as Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes. The name of this rancho, "Rincon de los Bueyes", means "Corner of the Oxen". It became known as such, due to a large ravine at the south corner of the grant, which served as a natural corral. Today, La Cienega Boulevard courses through this ravine.
Early Settlers
It was within the boundaries of this rancho that an important archeological find was made. About one mile south of the Rocha Adobe, twelve to thirteen feet below the old bed La Ballona Creek, was the place where the famous "Los Angeles Man" was found. Los Angeles Man was the skeletal remains of a male prehistoric human being that lived in a time when giant wooly mammoths, saber tooth tigers and other large unusual creatures roamed the Los Angeles Basin. Where Higuera Street in Culver City meets the creek channel was the approximate site of this early man discovery.
In a more recent period, Gabrielino Indians were known to live in the area. They were drawn the water of Ballona Creek and had at least fourteen villages situated on bluffs along its banks. One settlement was located where Culver City Park is today.
In 1781, the founding of the pueblo of Los Angeles brought the Spanish to the vicinity. Citizens from the pueblo were free to use the plains and hillsides in the area to graze their cattle as it was designated as public land. In the early 1800s some of the public pasturage west of the pueblo was granted to private landowners known as rancheros. The Rincon de los Bueyes was originally part of these common grazing lands. On December 7, 1821, Pablo Vicente de Sola, the Governor of Alta California, granted Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes to Bernardo Higuera and Cornelio Lopez. On July 10, 1843, this Spanish grant was confirmed by Governor Manuel Micheltorena.
This 3,127-acre land grant was for the most part, diamond shaped with the exception of the southeast corner extending over one mile deeper than the other three corners. It was relatively small for a Spanish concession at that time and it was surrounded on all sides by five different ranchos. To the east there were two: Rancho Las Cienegas and Rancho Paso de la Tijera. On the west, there was Rancho La Ballona. Bordering the northwest boundary was Rancho San Jose de Buenos Ayres and to the northeast there was Rancho Rodeo de las Aguas. Today, Rincon de Los Bueyes comprises of Cheviot Hills, Rancho Park, the northeast extension of Culver City, and a section of Baldwin Hills.
Records indicate that Bernardo Higuera was living in the Los Angeles district as early as 1819. By 1828, he was one of the co-owners of Rancho Santa Gertrudes situated along the banks of the San Gabriel River. This later developed into the city of Downey. Higuera bequeathed his Rincon de los Bueyes to his two sons, Francisco and Secundino. Both brothers fought in the Mexican War on the California front on the Mexican side. The two brethren served in the defensores (militia).
In August 1846, troops led by Commodore Robert F. Stockton of the United States Navy were rapidly advancing upon Los Angeles to capture the pueblo. Pio Pico, the last Mexican Governor of California, was unable to raise a sufficient army to oppose the Americans and prepared to flee to Mexico. Under cover of darkness, Secundino Higuera and Ygnacio del Valle helped Pico escape from Los Angeles and escorted him to the house of Governor's sister at Rancho Santa Margarita near Mission San Juan Capistrano. Later, on December 6, 1846, Francisco Higuera fought in the Battle of San Pasqual, near present day Escondido, California. He was credited for taking a lance to Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie, knocking him from his horse and seriously wounding him. The Americans won the war and California joined the Union in 1850.
In 1852, Francisco Higuera filed a claim for Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes with the United States Land Commission. The Spanish grant and the Mexican confirmation of that grant had to be proven to the new American government. According to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexican landowners could remain in possession of their holdings as long as they could provide proof of their validity. The Land Commission approved the brothers' claim to the rancho, and in 1872, a United States Patent was issued to Francisco and Secundino Higuera.
Francisco Higuera conveyed 100 acres of Rincon de los Bueyes to Jose Antonio Rocha II on November 8, 1872. It was on this tract of land that Rocha constructed the adobe standing today on Shenandoah Street. Apparently he settled in the area years before the land formally became his estate, because he built his house there in 1865.
Jose Antonio Rocha II was the son of Jose Antonio Rocha, a Portuguese sailor who jumped ship in Monterey in 1815. His mother was Josefa Alvarado, a lady of Spanish ancestry. He was one of five children. The elder Rocha came to Los Angeles and opened a blacksmith shop. One of the pueblo's most distinguished citizens, Rocha became the grantee of Rancho La Brea. This 4,439-acre grant was located a few miles west of the pueblo of Los Angeles. In 1836, the Rocha family moved to Santa Barbara. Jose Antonio Rocha II eventually returned to Los Angeles where he served as the county assessor and a Justice of the Peace.
Although Rancho Rincon de los Bueyes was subdivided multiple times, members of the Rocha family still held a part of the 100-acre tract, which included the adobe. Gradually, the rich farmland in the area developed into a bustling metropolis. Much of the area was annexed to the city of Los Angeles on May 22, 1915, as part of the Palms District. For many years the Rocha adobe was left abandoned until a descendant of the Rocha acquired it as a residence. It was restored in 1979.
In 1935, the Native Daughters of the Golden West placed a historical marker at the old place. The Historic American Building Survey recognized the structure in 1958. On January 28, 1963, the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Board designated the Rocha adobe as Historical Cultural Landmark #13.
Today, this large squared house of adobe and wood stands away from the street on its own private lane. It retains much of the original construction. The adobe walls of the lower level are twenty-three inches thick. Original adobe bricks can be seen on the west side of the structure. The house is surrounded on all sides by roofed porches what the Spanish called corredores. The upper story is built of redwood ship siding and the roof is wood shingled. Dormer windows on the second story are a later addition. Inside, there is what Jose Antonio Rocha II called his "gringo" stairway leading to the upper level. Most early adobes with two stories had outdoor staircases. Interior stairways were fashionable in the latter part of the 1800s, when Yankee craftsmanship influenced adobe construction. The Rocha adobe is a private residence and is not open to the public.
Rocha Adobe
2400 Shenandoah St., Los Angeles, CA 90034 Map
(Private Residence)
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Historic Adobes of Los Angeles County © 1997 John R. Kielbasa
Unless otherwise noted, photos 