About Us

Our Mission
To educate and engage visitors by sharing our rich history, compelling stories and authentic connections to California’s past, thus inspiring a sense of community.

Our Vision
To be widely recognized as a valued cultural and historical asset exploring California’s past, shedding light on the present and imagining the future.

Our Values
RLAF values inquiry-based exploration, interactive and hands-on experiences, and educational programming that sparks curiosity, informs and instructs, and instills a desire to know more.

Our History

The heirs of Florence and Fred Bixby gifted Rancho Los Alamitos to the people of Long Beach in 1968, and the site opened to the public in 1970. Beginning in 1986, the Rancho Los Alamitos Foundation assumed management of the historic site, partnering with the City of Long Beach to preserve and share its rich resources. The Rancho is located on Tongva-Gabrielino land known as Povuun’gna. The Foundation recognizes the profound significance of Povuun’gna as the sacred place of origin of the Indigenous people who stewarded this land for thousands of years before the disruption of Spanish colonization. Beginning with these Indigenous people, the land has nurtured a great diversity of people and cultures over its long history, from the Spanish and Mexican colonists to successive waves of settlers and entrepreneurs from all over the world. Today, the Rancho is a seven-and-a-half acre historic site within the City of Long Beach, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States.

Learn more about visiting the Rancho here

Ranch of the Little Cottonwoods

Rancho Los Alamitos, the “Ranch of the Little Cottonwoods,” is a Long Beach City Landmark and twice-listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Rancho is located on Tongva-Gabrielino land known as Povuun’nga. From the Tongva people who lived and gathered at Povuun’nga through waves of newcomers from Spain, Mexico, the United States, and beyond, the site has nurtured a great diversity of peoples and cultures over thousands of years. Today, the 7½-acre site includes four acres of nationally significant historic gardens, a ranch house (1790-1933), and a restored barnyard of the early 20th-century working ranch.

During your visit, wander garden trails, learn from knowledgeable docents and volunteers, meet the barnyard’s resident livestock (horses, sheep, goats, chickens, and ducks), and explore California history. Our mission is to inspire a sense of community by educating and engaging visitors with our rich history, our compelling stories, and our authentic connections to California’s past. We welcome you to join us.

Learn more about visiting the Rancho Click Here.