Most of us raised around Arvin/Lamont have spent some time on Tejon Ranch.  In some cases we were there legally, and in others it was a result of sneaking on to hunt or drink beer.  For some Arvin High School alums, it was their home and/or their workplace, or the workplace of their parents. Some students of Native American heritage had family members whose time on that land pre-dates the coming of the Spaniards and the land grants.  Others came later to work the cattle, cut timber, mine the hard-rock minerals, or extract the oil that was found there.  Today a lot of emphasis is being placed on the ranch’s role in providing habitat for both people and animals.  Three major housing developments are planned over the next 30 years.  But at the same time Tejon has covenanted with the State of California to preserve more than 90% of the land in its native state.

Many of you will recall from grade-school history that the ranch was founded in 1843 as a Mexican land grant.  Over the 160+ years since that original grant, the ranch has grown in size as other nearby land grants were purchased and added to its acreage. The driving force here was General Edward Fitzgerald Beale, Tejon’s founder.  Beale was clearly a man of empire and industry.  At more than a quarter million acres, the ranch today is the major asset of the Tejon Ranch Company.  Incorporated in 1936, Tejon ranch is the largest continuous expanse of private land in California.  It’s almost as large as the City of Los Angeles and about half the size of Rhode Island. The Ranch is located South and East of Arvin stretching from Interstate 5 on the South, running parallel with SR 223 on the East, and Terminating at SR 58 on the North.