L.A.T.E: Historical Landmark #8 Pio Pico State Historic Park

Address: 6003 Pioneer Blvd
Whittier, CA

CA Historical Landmark #127
National Register of Historic Places Reference #73000408

Pío de Jesus Pico is one of California’s most remarkable historical figures. He witnessed and influenced nearly a century of California history in the 1800’s. Pío Pico was the governor of Alta California in 1832 and again in 1846 before and during the Mexican-American War. Pio Pico was the last Mexican Governor of Alta California and perhaps the one of the first African descendant politicians in North America!

Pio Pico was born in 1801 in Mission San Gabriel, according to records his ancestry included a mixture of Spanish, African and Indian. He live most of this young adult life in San Diego living with his father. It was up until his dad died where he began exploring other territories receiving land grants where he became influential to California History.

In 1845 Pio Pico became Governor of Alta California. During that time he became a strong leader against the war and invasion of the Americans.

By the 1850's Pico became one of the richest men in Alta California, he purchased Rancho Paso de Bortolo (present day cities Montebello, Whittier, Pico Rivera) and built an adobe house.

After being defeated by the Americans in the Mexican-American War , Pico fled to Mexico to prevent being captured and taken as a prisoner leaving all his land behind. He later reclaimed his title to the land and invested in more real estate, becoming wealthy and influential. In his later years Pico became more private and lived at the present day Pio Pico Historic Park.

Towards the very end of his life just like every rich man in that time frame of the late 1880's he became very poor. He was evicted of his own adobe house in 1892 after thinking he had gotten a loan by Bernard Cohn but ignorantly sold his deed without even realizing.

Pio Pico died in 1894. His remains are actually in the Campo Santo Cemetery that belong to the Workman family. For history of the Campo Santo check out my Historical Landmark #4 post

http://lifeaccordingtoerick.blogspot.com/2014/07/historical-landmark-4-el-campo-santo.html

The Pio Pico Historic Park includes the adobe mansion and green fields which now include park picnic benches. In 1907 the land became historic and by 1917 this site belonged to the state of California. In 1927 the Pio Pico Adobe Mansion became the Pio Pico State Historic Park. Although it has been renovated many times due to floods, and earthquakes the foundation of the adobe house remains.