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It was back in 1769 that King Carlos III of Spain
decided to found a city in Alta (upper) California. He sent a group of monks and
soldiers to scope out the area. The first thing the group came across was the
Gabrioleno Spring (where University High School is today). One of the padres
noted in his diary that he was going to name the spring the Spring of
Saint Monica to commemorate the tears Saint Monica cried for her wayward
son Augusta. The city of Santa Monica take its name from this spring, even
though the spring isn't located in Santa Monica. One of the king's soldiers, Francisco Sepulveda, made a petition to the king for a grant through the Viceroy of Mexico City. He was granted a rather substantial amount of property - 30,000 acres. The property was called the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica (the Ranch of Saint Vicente and Saint Monica). 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. In addition The Marquez/Reyees family were granted the lands belonging to the Rancho Boca de Santa Monica. These lands stretched from Topanga Canyon, the Santa Monica Mountains and touched the Sepulveda family rancho. Both families history are deeply rooted in California history, They and other Spaniards are equally responsible for putting Santa Monica on the map in their own way. Other Santa Monica bloodlines usually discounted and hardly recognized for the history of Santa Monica and/or Los Angeles are the Machados, Carrillo, Monyier, Cota, Olivera, Alvarez, Villa, Gonzales, Garcia, Pena, Aviles, Pico, Lugo, Valenzuela, Blanco, Serrano, Dominguez, Alvarado, Guerra, etc.(from a family member, thank you for your information) The area granted to Sepulveda consisted of all the property above what is now Pico Blvd. out to the ocean. North to Santa Monica Mountains towards what is now Encino, east along what is now Ventura Blvd., south down to Pico Blvd. To give you an idea of how generous this grant of land was, the rancho next door (on the other side of Sepulveda Blvd.), The Rancho de Jose de Buenos Aires (the Ranch of Saint Joseph of the Good Breezes), consisted of only 4,400 acres. Sepulveda and his family inhabited the property for some time. Things changed when the Spanish and Mexican governments had a "little disagreement" and Mexico seceded from Spain. In 1839 Sepulveda petitioned the government of Mexico city for confirmation to the title of property. Mexico City was happy to grant title to land that had been "loaned" by the Spanish king. All one had to do was ask for and receive one's property - on money down for ever. In 1872 the Sepulveda family decided that they would sell their property. Each one of the Sepulveda descendants signed a document turning over the entire property for $55,000. in gold coin to Robert S. Baker and his wife Arcadia Bandini Sterns de Baker. The city of Bakersfield was named after Baker, a colonel in the US Army. The city of Arcadia is named after his wife.) The Bakers had owned the 30,000 acre property for two years, from 1872 to 1874, when they sold a 2/4 interest in the land for $162,000. to Senator John Paul Jones, the silver magnate from Nevada. City of Santa Monica is Formed Senator Jones owned property at Independence up at the Owens River Valley. He wanted to build a railway to transport his silver from Independence to Los Angeles. From Los Angeles he needed a place to bring it out to the coast so he could send it up to the mints in San Francisco. In 1875 track was laid from Santa Monica to downtown Los Angeles. The property that the railroad track sits on today is Exposition Blvd. The railway never made it all the way to Independence. In the meantime, Jones built a huge wharf at the end of Colorado Blvd. in Santa Monica. It stretched 1,700 feet into the water. Jones and Banker decided they would put a town out on the coast so that people who were going to work on the wharf would have a place to live. The town was not founded as a seaside resort, it was created for the people who were going to be involved in the silver trade-to-be. So, the town of Santa Monica was put on the map and lots were put up for sale. The Bid for the Soldiers' Home In 1887 Jones and Baker completed and won the right to donate 600+ acres of land to the Federal Government. The purpose: The Pacific Branch of the National Soldiers' Home of Disabled Veterans from the Civil War. The Jones and Baker interest had managed for a short time to get hold of the San Jose de Buenos Aires property. Their donation of land was comprised of 1/3 from the property of the Rancho san Jose de Buenos Aires and approximately 2/3 from the Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica - that's why the V. A. property crosses Sepulveda Blvd. The establishment of the Soldiers' Home meant that their needed to be a town near the site: the people who worked at the Soldiers' Home would then be able to come and go with some ease. In 1895 a little town was plotted below the great gates of the Soldiers' Home on Ohio Ave. The town named W.E. Sawtelle, the local banker. At that time the town of Sawtelle was seen as a suburb of Santa Monica. The main drag in Sawtelle was Oregon Ave. - later the name was changed to Santa Monica Blvd. An electric car line was place down Oregon Ave. to connect the burgeoning little town of Hollywood with the somewhat larger town of Santa Monica. There wasn't too much in-between the two towns. Brentwood Area is Established In 1904 the Jones and Baker interest sold a lot of their property off to a man named Gilless and his partner Fleming. They bought most of the Santa Monica Land and Water Company holdings. Because of these holdings, Gilless and Fleming needed to figure out a way to subdivide the property. Gilless, who was a well-to-do capitalist, had done E. H. Harraman of the Southern Pacific Railroad a great favor - Gilless had signed some notes which allowed Harraman to extend his credit. In return, Harraman gave Gilless a "gift" of an electric car line. This particular line started at Oregon Ave. and Sawtelle, came up Purdue, crossed over the Pacific Branch of the National Soldiers' Home and swung out onto what is now the median of San Vicente Blvd. and ran west all the way to the ocean. With this addition Gilless instantly had sub dividers interested in his property. One of the first subdivisions was Brentwood Park: it was laid out in 1906. There are various theories regarding the name of Brentwood. The bets on one, although it can't be proven, comes from a long-time Brentwood resident. This resident attributes the name to Joseph Lancaster Brent, a very famous 19th century attorney who was involved in land-use cases in Los Angeles. Brent died in 1905 and it is felt that his name was given to Brentwood Park as a tribute to him upon his death. In 1916 the citizens of Los Angeles voted to join all the area from Beverly Hills to the sea with Los Angeles. William Mulholland, heading up the bureau of Waterworks and Supply, had promised to build a large dam up in the Santa Monica mountains at Stone Canyon. Sawtelle, who had incorporated as a town on its own, panicked with Mulholland's promise. They were dependent on well water at the time and knew that their resources were just about spent. As a result of the voting, Sawtelle decided to join up with Los Angeles as well. Brentwood Glen In the early 1920's the Ratteree Brothers bought the area of property now know as Brentwood Glen. There were four Ratteree brothers: Judge Earnest Ratteree, Dr. Ira Ratteree, James Ratteree and Allan Ratteree. They came from the south, spending most of their time in Arkansas and South Carolina before arriving in Los Angeles. The Ratterees divided their land into five different parcels which at the time was a walnut grove. The land was referred to as the Ratteree Tract. The Ratterees filed for subdivision of the land in the mid 1920s. They named all the streets (and the names are original to this day) but they did not market the property until after the onset of the depression. The streets and sidewalks were poured in 1927.One of the original Pepper Trees is still in front of 11346 Montana St. In 1932 the first house was build at 11344 Albata St. It is still the original structure. The majority of the houses were constructed between 1935-42. In 1954 the city of Los Angeles began construction of three overpasses of the 405 freeway on Ohio Ave., Sunset Blvd. and Casciano, now Getty Center Drive. In 1960 the freeway was completed all the way through the Sepulveda Pass. 1969 was the year the Homeowners' Association was formed. At that time residents decided to change the name of the neighborhood from the Ratteree Tract to Brentwood Glen. The southbound on-ramp and sound wall were created in 1975-76. After a bizarre bus accident in 1994 the Waterford off-ramp was closed. Today Brentwood Glen is home to 560 dwellings consisting of single family homes, duplexes, triplexes and multiple-unit apartments * This was written by a home owner in Brentwood Glen, thank you for your time and efforts in creating this historical profile.
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