Mandeville Canyon, Los Angeles, California
Mandeville Canyon is a small community in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Its center is Mandeville Canyon Road, which begins at Sunset Boulevard and extends north towards Mulholland Drive, though it stops short of Mulholland and there is no automotive route between the two. Mandeville Canyon Road is said to be the longest paved, dead end road in Los Angeles, at over 5 miles (8.0 km). From start to finish, the road gains 1,000 ft (300 m) in elevation.
Mandeville Canyon’s history begins with two indigenous peoples, the Chumash and the Gabrieleno-Tongva, who inhabited the Santa Monica Mountain area prior to the arrival of Spanish Conquistadors.
In 1769 Spanish occupation of California began under King Charles III. Shortly thereafter, a group of 60+ monks and soldiers led by Gaspar de Portolà were dispatched to explore the Los Angeles area. In 1781 the city of Los Angeles was founded. King Charles III gave the city several thousand acres of his land. One of the King's soldiers, Francisco Xavier Sepulveda, made a petition to the King for a grant through the Viceroy of Mexico City. Sepulveda was granted use of the land only; he could use it in the name of the King for as long as he and the King had the arrangement.
California was ruled by Spain until 1822 when Mexico assumed jurisdiction. In 1839, Francisco Sepúlveda, fifth son of Francisco Xavier, was granted a substantial amount of property - 30,000 acres (120 km2) of “mountains, mesa and shore land” by the Governor of the Californias, Juan Alvarado. The property was called the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica (the Ranch of Saint Vicente and Saint Monica). However, Sepúlveda also petitioned the government of Mexico for confirmation to the title of his property. Consequently, Sepúlveda and his family became the first known non-sovereign owners of the land and inhabited the property for another 33 years.
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