Tejon Ranch Company, based in Lebec, California, is one of the largest private landowners in California. The company was incorporated in 1936 to organize the ownership of a large tract of land that was consolidated from four Mexican land grants acquired in the 1850s and 1860s by ranch founder General Edward Fitzgerald Beale. The company now owns over 270,000 acres in the southern San Joaquin Valley, Tehachapi Mountains, and Antelope Valley. It is the largest contiguous piece of private property in the state. Tejon Ranch’s agricultural operation primarily grows almonds, pistachios, and wine grapes, along with some alfalfa and the occasional row crop. Cattle leases cover about 250,000 acres, and depending on the season, up to 12,000 head of cattle can be found grazing on the ranch.
History
In 1843, the Mexican government made grants for the land that became three ranches: the Rancho Los Alamos y Agua Caliente; the Rancho El Tejon; and the Rancho Castac. A fourth tract, the Rancho La Liebre, was granted in 1846. At the urging of Edward Beale, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in California, the Sebastian Indian Reservation was established in 1853 on Rancho El Tejon, and Fort Tejon was established by the U.S. Army in 1854 on Rancho Castac. These were federal projects, consisting of major developments and improvements, on what was the Mexican grantees' private land. In 1855, Edward Beale purchased Rancho La Liebre. The Army abandoned Fort Tejon in 1864. Beale bought Rancho El Tejon and Rancho de los Alamos y Agua Caliente in 1865, and Rancho Castac in 1866. With the purchase of these four Mexican land grants, Beale created the present day Tejon Ranch. Beale's son, Truxtun Beale, sold the Tejon Ranch in 1912 to a syndicate of investors headed by Los Angeles Times publisher Harry Chandler and land developer Moses Sherman. Both also had extensive holdings in the San Fernando Valley. In 1917, some surviving Kitanemuk Indians lived on Tejon Ranch. In 1936, the Tejon Ranch Company became a public company, with the Chandler–Sherman group retaining a controlling interest. The Chandlers' Times Mirror Company sold its stake in 1997.
Tejon Ranch is the largest private landholding in California, and today is owned by Tejon Ranch Company, a company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Its principal activity is land development and agribusiness, increasing the value of real estate and resource holding on this land. The company operates in four segments of the economy:
A large number of California native plants occur on as yet undisturbed land owned by Tejon Ranch. It is situated at a section of the state where several ecoregions meet and overlap: the Mojave Desert, the Central Valley, the Sierra Nevada, and the Transverse Ranges of Southern California. The interaction of unique geography and varying climates has produced high biodiversity, as evidenced by showy spring wildflower blooms. An agreement between the Tejon Ranch Company and a coalition of environmental groups, announced in May 2008, is designed to permanently protect of the historic ranch. It is the largest conservation and land-use pact in California history. The agreement was finally reached to conclude 20 months of off-and-on negotiations, but only after a marathon three-day bargaining session in April 2008. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger traveled to the ranch in May of that year to take part in the announcement, but the signing of the agreement was done in private in June. Highlights of the pact are:
Tejon Ranch will have the right to proceed with three massive development projects. All the projects still must undergo approvals by county, state, and federal authorities.
Tejon Ranch will set aside for conservation and will provide an option for public purchase of an additional – 49,000 to create a state park, 10,000 to realign of the Pacific Crest hiking trail, and the rest for docent-led tours of "sensitive habitat." Tejon Ranch will accept the value set by a state appraiser, both sides agreed. Easements will be phased in but will allow existing buildings and historic uses, like cattle grazing and movie-making, to continue.
A 12-member "independent Tejon Ranch Conservancy" will be appointed by the company and the environmental coalition to manage the preserved land "in perpetuity." The company is to provide $800,000 a year for seven years to get the conservancy started.
In developing Tejon Mountain Village, the company agreed to leave four of the five northern-facing ridge lines free from development because they are prime foraging grounds for the threatened California condor.
The Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from Mexico to Canada, will be rerouted on of Tejon Ranch property so that it will go through the ranch, thus opening vast tracts of wilderness and creating a natural corridor between the Sierra Nevada range of mountains to the east, through the Mojave Desert and the San Joaquin Valley to the Pacific Coast on the west.
Future construction
Three development projects are in the pipeline for the Tejon Ranch Company.
Tejon Mountain Village
The most extensive of these projects, Tejon Mountain Village is a proposed residential, commercial, and recreational development that has been a matter of heated debate for years in the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass. The development would include homes, commercial buildings, hotels, and golf courses.
Three large warehouses have been built by the Tejon Ranch Company as the first in what will be an industrial complex designed to compete with distribution centers in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Foreign-made goods will be trucked in from California ports such as Oakland and Los Angeles and stored until they are delivered to retailers. About a third of the park is expected to be declared a foreign trade zone, allowing importers to defer payment of U.S. customs duty. The site also includes commercial uses such as restaurants, automobile service stations, and a large truck stop.
