Cattlemen and Cowboys of California

Profiles of beef cattle people connected to California.

• livingDave WoodA Cal Poly graduate who started as a Harris Ranch pen rider and became the leader of its feeding and beef businesses.California
• built 1826Dominguez Ranch AdobeCompleted in 1826, the adobe still stands as the home base of the Dominguez family's Rancho San Pedro.California
• 1814-1882Don Juan ForsterAn English teenager arrived in Mexican California, married into the Pico family and ended up with the biggest ranch in…California
• 1803-1882Don Manuel DominguezA Californio ranchero and public official held onto his family's rancho while most others were broken up.California
• 1875-1952Fred Hathaway BixbyA University of California graduate who turned a family land grant legacy into a diversified ranching, land and…California
• built 1919-1947Hearst CastleWilliam Randolph Hearst built his hilltop estate on land his father turned into a cattle ranch, and cattle still graze…California
• est. 1865Hearst RanchGeorge Hearst's 1865 land purchase became a working coastal cattle ranch that now sells grass-fed beef and sits under…California
• 1829-1893Henry Clay DaultonHe gave up on gold, chose livestock instead, and died months after becoming Madera County's first board chairman.California
• 1827-1916Henry MillerA German-born butcher and his partner Charles Lux assembled the biggest cattle business in California.California
• 1885-1963Hubbard Searles RussellA Ventura County ranch manager rose to lead both his state's cattlemen and the national association.California
• est. 1864Irvine RanchJames Irvine and his partners assembled the ranch in 1864, and a company that chose not to sell its land ended up…California
• livingJohn LaceyA third-generation rancher helped merge three national beef groups into one.California
• 1825-1886Joseph RussA gold rush sawmill operator drove cattle to the Eel River country and built one of California's largest north coast…California
• 1906-2000Kenneth EadeHe worked cattle operations in California, Arizona and Mexico and gave decades to industry organizations.California
• est. 1858Miller & LuxStarting as San Francisco butchers in 1858, Henry Miller and Charles Lux built the largest cattle operation in…California
• 1965-1969 (on screen)Nick BarkleyPeter Breck's Nick Barkley ran the family ranch with a short fuse, a black hat and a growing respect for his half…California
• est. 1853Rancho CamulosCarved from a Mexican land grant in 1853, Camulos ran cattle first, then grapes, brandy and the first commercial…California
• est. 1790sRancho Los AlamitosAbel Stearns's cattle made this rancho the headquarters of the largest cattle ranch in the United States in the early…California
• built 1844Rancho Los CerritosA two-story Monterey-style adobe built in 1843-1844 still stands in Long Beach as the old headquarters of a cattle…California
• built 1836Rancho Petaluma AdobeBuilt between 1836 and 1846, the adobe was the center of Mariano Vallejo's hide-and-tallow rancho north of San…California
• est. 1784Rancho San PedroA retired soldier's 75,000-acre grant became the Dominguez family's rancho and still shapes land ownership around Los…California
• 1881-1953Richard Roy OwensA Tehama County stockman helped turn a Depression-era local sale into one of the largest bull sales in the West.California
• est. 1843Tejon RanchFour Mexican land grants, a military fort and a 2008 conservation pact explain how one ranch kept 270,000 acres in…California
• 1965-1969 (on screen)Victoria BarkleyBarbara Stanwyck's Victoria Barkley ran a California ranch and a grown family without ever being played as fragile.California
• 1874-1960Wes C. EadeHe had little schooling and a sharp read of the cattle market, and he built a reputation on his word.California
• 1893-1968William Hugh BaberHe turned a wheat ranch into a diversified livestock and rice operation and led state and national industry groups.California
• 1818-1886William Welles HollisterHe drove thousands of Ohio sheep across the continent and built ranches in San Benito and Santa Barbara counties.California