Biography
José de Arnaz (1820-1895) arrived in California in 1840, travelling from ranch to mission selling wares from a merchant ship. He settled in Ventura and Los Angeles, establishing ranches in both places. After his passing, Arnaz’ Los Angeles ranch would hold oil wells, private schools, country clubs, golf courses, a creamery, a movie studio backlot, and residential communities.
Recuerdos
Don José de Arnaz contributed to the historical record through his Recuerdos (Memories), collected by Thomas Savage on behalf of the Bancroft Library.
Los Angeles County Ranch
In the mid to late-Nineteenth Century, Don José de Arnaz carved a two and a half square mile ranch from the old Rancho Rincón de los Bueyes in what would be West Los Angeles in the century to come.
Article from The Beverly Hills Citizen, June 23, 1939, about the history of the Arnaz ranch on the cusp of its remains’ redevelopment into the Beverlywood residential neighborhood.