FIRST -- Transcontinental Railroad - Lake Forest, CA
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 33° 38.819 W 117° 41.358
11S E 436082 N 3723228
One of several markers at Heritage Park in Lake Forest, California.
Waymark Code: WM1487T
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/13/2021
Views: 1
The plaque says, "California's mission system lasted 65 years. by 1834, the adobe buildings and walls had begun to decay and the labor force was all but gone. Having already broken away from Spanish rule, Mexico confiscated the mission's assets and acreage, redistributing them as privately-owned ranchos.
Retired soldiers and other petitioned the Mexican governor of California, Pio Pico, for their own land grants. In 1842, one of those soldiers, Jose Antonio Fernando Serrano, received Rancho Cañada de los Alisos. Spanning nearly 11,000 acres, it included the land you are standing on. The Serrano family built five adobe homes on their rancho, including this one. Life on the rancho revolved around managing crops, cattle, and prizes racing horses. As with the Acjachement and Tongva, it also meant relying on local natural resources, like clay soil for adobe bricks and water from Aliso and Serrano Creeks. That reliance could spell doom when resources evaporated. Great droughts occurred in the 1850s and and 1860s. Pastures withered and the herds starved. Rancho finances were as parched as the soil."
FIRST - Classification Variable: Item or Event
Date of FIRST: Not listed
More Information - Web URL: Not listed
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