Reyes Adobe Days - a Historical Perspective

Reyes Adobe Days - a Historical Perspective

Before Trump vs. Clinton, before the debate about building a wall, there was no border between Mexico and California. Actually, California was part of Mexico, after Mexico declared independence from Spain.

The Reyes Adobe Day annual celebration in Agoura Hills, harks back to the days of the first Mexican settlers, some of whom were given large plots of land as a reward for serving in the military, and others who were well connected and could afford to make the trek to California and raise cattle.

California became US territory when it was conquered in the Mexico-US war of 1846-1848. The rudimentary surveys, and very inexact descriptions of those large ranches were not enough legal evidence for their owners to keep the US Government from taking their land. Or, the ranch owners owed such massive legal fees defending their rights, they had to give the land to the lawyers to settle their bill.

Reyes Adobe Days is a remembrance of those early ranches. From the perspective of the how the Adobe itself came to be, we might reflect on those early Mexican ranchers who were forced to give up their land upon which Agoura Hills has their festivities on Oct 6-9, 2016.