Los Cerritos Neighborhood Association

The Los Cerritos area was inhabited by Native American tribes as early as 2,000 to 5,000 BC. When the Spanish began building missions in California during the late 1700s, they gave Mexican soldier Immanuel Nieto 167,000 acres of Los Cerritos land.

Los Cerritos finally came to life when Massachusetts born John Temple bought 27,000 acres of Nieto's land in 1843. As Temple's cattle ranch thrived, he became highly involved in city government and allowed sections of his ranch to be sold, allowing other settlers to develop the land.

Cattle fed the growing population of miners during the gold rush, providing an economic boom in Los Cerritos. Temple sold the historic Rancho Los Cerritos to the firm Flint, Bixby & Co. The Bixby family soon turned the cattle ranch into a sheep farm.

If the land did not produce what the family needed, they took a day's ride into the Pueblo Los Angeles.

Visitors can learn more about the Los Cerritos neighborhood at the Rancho Los Cerritos historic site, which has become an important part of the community. For instance, many homes in Los Cerritos reflect the Spanish architectural design of the Rancho.