During the first half of the 19th Century, Don Antonio Maria Lugo was perhaps the most important individual in San Bernardino County.
Although his elder brothers were born in Spain, Lugo (1775-1860) was a native Californian. Born at Mission San Antonio de Padua in present-day Jolon, the youngest son of Francisco Salvador Lugo was destined to become one of the most prominent and wealthy men in the state, despite not having any formal education.
Roy E. Whitehead mentioned in his biography “Lugo: A Chronicle of Early California” (1978) that in 1810, as a 35-year-old corporal in the Spanish army stationed in Santa Barbara, Lugo requested and was given his first land grant —Rancho San Antonio — which included Bell Gardens. Shortly thereafter, he became mayor of Los Angeles.
During the next two and a half decades, the respected and financially well off “Don” Antonio lived the life of a rancher while also serving as alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles from 1816 to 1819 and juez de campo (judge of the plains), a position involving duties consisting of settling disputes between rancheros relative to the ownership of cattle, etc., from 1833 to 1834.
During the late 1830s, land grants to individuals were restricted to 11 square leagues, or about 49,000 acres, but the size could be greatly increased under Mexican law if other families could be induced to settle on the property. Don Antonio and three of his sons — Jose Del Carmen, Jose Maria, and Vicente — proposed to colonize the San Bernardino and Yucaipa valleys, and a petition containing the names of 27 persons applying for land within the colony was submitted to Gov. Juan Bautista Alvarado.
In 1839, the governor issued the permit allowing the plan to proceed. This authorization was issued to Don Antonio’s son, Jose Del Carmen Lugo, who determined to make the colony a success. Joined by his two brothers, Jose del Carmen built an adobe house (located where the courthouse now stands) and brought 4,000 head of cattle to the San Bernardino Valley.
Land was parceled out to the colonists but times were tough and the colony failed. Raids on their stock played the major role in this failure. However, the Lugo brothers and their cousin, Diego Sepulveda, decided to stay after all the other colonists except the Bermudez family had given up and left the valley.
Meanwhile, the senior Lugo had a highly esteemed reputation and often got what he wanted. In 1841, Gov. Alvarado granted Rancho Santa Ana del Chino to Don Antonio and his wife Dolores who had given birth to five sons: José del Carmen, José Maria, Felipe, José Antonio and Vicente; and three daughters: Vicenta Perez, Mariam Antonia Yorba and Maria Merced.
This influence was put to good use once again when the San Bernardino region was changed from a colony to a rancho.
Out of a total of 18 leagues, the family selected eight leagues (about 35,000 acres) as their private property and the rest they could use for grazing the 4,000 or so head of cattle brought in from Don Antonio Lugo’s Rancho San Antonio. The price for purchasing this land was about $800 in hides and tallow.
While the brothers took control of the San Bernardino Valley and set up three more homes — an adobe at Bunker Hill (close proximity of today’s San Bernardino Valley College), an adobe near the Indian village of Jumuba (west side of Hunts Lane) and the third one in inside the old estancia buildings — built by local Indians under the supervision of missionaries from San Gabriel in the early 1830’s — Sepulveda built another adobe in Yucaipa, where he ran cattle and a number of swine.
Although there were obviously some good times experienced over the years — especially during fiestas and the ever popular Bull and Bear Fights — the rigors of isolated pioneer life on the Rancho San Bernardino was no bed of roses for the Lugos.
Soon after the purchase, the family preferred spending more time at their old home in the far more exciting Los Angeles area, while letting their trusted ranch foremen take care of the San Bernardino property. And if the sheer boredom mixed in with the typical grueling hard work of a rancher weren’t bad enough, horse thieves arriving from the Mojave Desert became unwelcomed guests all too frequently.
Needless to say, when Mormon colonists from Salt Lake spoke to the frustrated Lugos about buying the rancho in 1851, the fed-up landlords were more than eager to sell out. And what a deal they made.
When all was said and done, the Rancho San Bernardino, which was practically given to the Lugos for a paltry $800 nine years earlier, was sold to the new arrivals for a mere $ 77,500 … and at 3% interest per month!
Today’s Lugo Avenue in the city of San Bernardino and Lugonia Avenue in Redlands are named after this prominent family.
Contact Nick Cataldo at Yankeenut15@gmail.com and read more of his local history articles at Facebook.com/BackRoadsPress. He is the author of “Images of America: San Bernardino,” “The Earp Clan: The Southern California Years” and of his most recent book, “Creating the Gate City: San Bernardino, Ca.,” released in 2021.
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