What is the history of Bell, California?
‘I. Lugo Family’ In the Nineteenth Century, until 1860, the area which now is the City Of Bell is Los Angeles County, was part of the 30,000 – acre Rancho San Antonio (Lugo grant)Rancho San Antonio. This Rancho had been settled by Don Antonio Maria Lugo, a Spanish aristocrat and former soldier, whose father, Francisco Lugo, came to California in 1771. Some between 1810 and 1813, Don Antonio had obtained permission from the Spanish King to settle on the Rancho; and, later, in about 1838, the King formally granted the land to Don Antonio. As the years passed, Rancho San Antonio became widely known for its fine horses and large herds of cattle which grazed on the rolling prairie. In the later half of the century, however, between 1855 and 1865 most of the Rancho was sold for less than one dollar per acre. The Lugo family did manage to retain its home, and descendants of the family still living in the original adobe house which is located on what is now the southwest corner of Gage AvenueG
