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Santa Barbara's Royal Rancho
Dos Pueblos bears one of California's oldest place-name, christened by Cabrillo during his voyage of discovery in 1542.
Dubbed a "royal rancho" by historians because it was a gift of King Carlos III of Spain, Dos Pueblos was intended to support Mission Santa Barbara during the presidio period following Santa Barbara's founding in 1782.
The first private owner, Irish-born Nicholas A. Den, a medical man, was awarded ownership of the ranch in 1842 by Mexican governor Juan B. Alvarado. When Col. John C. Fremont came over the mountain to seize Santa Barbara for the U.S. during the Mexican War, he emerged onto Dos Pueblos Ranch.
During the Gold Rush of '49, Den made his fortune selling Dos Pueblos beef to mining camps. Following Den's death in 1862 the ranch was subdivided among his widow and numerous children.
Before and after the turn of the century Royal Ranch was the scene of many diverse activities. One of its later owners bred racehorses. Another converted Dos Pueblos into the world's largest orchid farm. A major oil company established off-shore petroleum production from pumps operated on the ranch. At the present time the historic spread specializes in such exotic crops as macadamia, cherimoyas and avocados.
Dubbed a "royal rancho" by historians because it was a gift of King Carlos III of Spain, Dos Pueblos was intended to support Mission Santa Barbara during the presidio period following Santa Barbara's founding in 1782.
The first private owner, Irish-born Nicholas A. Den, a medical man, was awarded ownership of the ranch in 1842 by Mexican governor Juan B. Alvarado. When Col. John C. Fremont came over the mountain to seize Santa Barbara for the U.S. during the Mexican War, he emerged onto Dos Pueblos Ranch.
During the Gold Rush of '49, Den made his fortune selling Dos Pueblos beef to mining camps. Following Den's death in 1862 the ranch was subdivided among his widow and numerous children.
Before and after the turn of the century Royal Ranch was the scene of many diverse activities. One of its later owners bred racehorses. Another converted Dos Pueblos into the world's largest orchid farm. A major oil company established off-shore petroleum production from pumps operated on the ranch. At the present time the historic spread specializes in such exotic crops as macadamia, cherimoyas and avocados.
285 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
14 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 22, 2016
I found this book in my favorite antique store in Santa Barbara when I was visiting in December. It was in perfect condition with one of those clear, plastic covers. I haggled a little with a gentleman in a comfortable chair near the front of the store, which always yields bits of history for me. It's what I love about the place. I took the book back to the cabin in the mountains where I was staying, built a fire, made tea and settled in night after night. There were times when I had a hard time believing I was reading non-fiction as Walter Tompkins' sharp, liviely words felt more like an epic adventure novel. Indeed it is a bit romantic and, dare I say it, testosterone driven in its approach. Still, I delighted in the richly researched details and the knowing nuance about the landscape that was home for me as a girl. Tomkins' "Goleta the Good Land" had always been on our bookshelf. I knew it well. And it was lovely to return to this related history. I especially appreciated reading about the Dos Pueblos (the name of my high school, incidentally), about the pair of villages set on opposite sides of a creek I know all too well. The native people in the two pueblos spoke different languages and held different beliefs, according to Tompkins, though they are often lumped together as Chumash. I loved learning about the Irish doctor who became loyal to Mexico and watched over Santa Barbara so humanely. I loved reading about the many misadventures that took place in the mountains I love so much, including one battle in which hundreds of men and horses slipped down the steep mountain faces that made my mother so nervous. I loved reading about the many humans who for thousands of years were inexplicably drawn to the spit of California where the coast runs westward and that's hugged by the mountains, when it Canalino land, Spain, Mexico and California. It is the same landscape that drew my father and mother, separately. It's a piece of the world I seem to owe my existence to.
February 28, 2011
Do you enjoy reading about California's compelling history? Perhaps you would like to know what it takes to develop a successful ranch? Maybe you live(d) in Santa Barbara and would like to know how it became the popular tourist-oriented community that it is today. In any case, Tompkins detailed book on Santa Barbara will keep you interested with each turn of the page.
The narrative begins in 1542 with a vivid account of Juan Cabrillo's first glimpse of the Canalino Indians and the "los dos pueblos" that were situated on the bluffs of modern day Goleta. What!? There were people here before us? Imagine that.
The story goes on to give a periodical account of the revered land known as the Dos Pueblos Rancho. Interestingly enough that stretch of prolific land was inhabited by some of Santa Barbara's all-time most important individuals. Each played a big role in putting the quiet rural town on the map.
The narrative begins in 1542 with a vivid account of Juan Cabrillo's first glimpse of the Canalino Indians and the "los dos pueblos" that were situated on the bluffs of modern day Goleta. What!? There were people here before us? Imagine that.
The story goes on to give a periodical account of the revered land known as the Dos Pueblos Rancho. Interestingly enough that stretch of prolific land was inhabited by some of Santa Barbara's all-time most important individuals. Each played a big role in putting the quiet rural town on the map.
September 5, 2018
This was a fantastic read about Dos Pueblos Ranch and early Santa Barbara history. I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the ranch including the "Big House", the surrounding property as well as passing under the viaduct heading out towards the beach. It's a beautiful piece of property so I can truly understand the lure of it. Dos Pueblos Ranch is once again up for sale only this time it's price tag is $48 million. What was once a land grant from Mexico to Nicholas Den and his young Mexican bride; later became the home of some prominent men who shaped Santa Barbara as we know it today, ranging from Colonel William Hollister, Herbert Wylie to Rudi Schulte.
April 16, 2021
Walter Tompkins is an excellent story teller. I loved the first part of the book. It got a little harder to enjoy when the ranch began changing owners.
December 29, 2023
This was a memorable reading experience for me. Tompkins's narrative tale of the history of Dos Pueblos Ranch gave me the knowledge I sought about the place where I grew up. I finished the book today, December 20, the anniversary of my grandfather Rudi Schulte's passing 18 years ago. I can't believe it took me this long to read this masterpiece. The last chapter of this tale details his purchase of the land in 1977 but, most importantly, his love and respect for the land. His appreciation paralleled Nicolas Den's - the first owner - fondness for the land. “One of the most satisfying things about owning Dos Pueblos is that my family chooses to live there,” my grandfather Rudi Schulte said to the author Walker A. Tompkins in the last chapter. It is a storied tale of hundreds of years of history that has yet to end.
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September 17, 2009 I have always been inspired by the writings of those authors that chose the venues of non-fiction or historical fiction. It also holds true whenever I choose to view a movie. Yet I would like to point out that I have the utmost respect for fictional writers, as I would be the first to agree that it takes the most talent to produce a purely fictional novel. However, as a viewer or reader, realizing that what I am absorbing actually took place as I am observing it…. well I would suppose it just moves me, pushes my buttons if you will.
In the case of Santa Barbara’s Royal Rancho: The fabulous history of Los Dos Pueblos, an unmistakable parallel consumed me throughout the book. The mid 19th century has always intrigued me for reasons that brought glory to our country and yet great shame. It was a time when an emerging new nation was striving to take its place along side the imperialistic giants, England, France, Spain and to a lesser degree Portugal.
This ironic parallel that I felt did not take place until my fourth reading of the novel in October of 2006. I had first read Walker A. Tompkins epic work in the winter of 1979. I don’t recall when I preceded to engulf my self into his work, but do remember it was twice within the following twenty years.
His main character Nicholas Den was not of the same demeanor as his peers of the day. That is to say that not many white men in the mid 1880’s were willing to assimilate totally into the native cultures of which they chose to settle with. This was the age of manifest destiny, and most Americans believed it was a divinity from God. Yet God could not have stood in their hearts as they slaughtered, enslaved and ravaged the native populations, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Nicholas Den was the first white man to settle the Dos Pueblos area near Santa Barbara and in doing so assimilated totally into the native culture. His willingness to do so brought him respect and success, as well as a life that was compliant with the native cultures of the Santa Barbara natives. For me, the novel conveyed that a humanistic approach to the merging of cultures was clearly advantageous to all involved. Yet it was not the prevailing mood of the times. America had devised its strategies under the banner that might makes right. Unfortunately that philosophy extended to the end of the nineteenth century
The parallel that I drew on a somewhat personal level with my last review of the book, had to do with my ensuing research into the history of my own family. Hawai’i where my roots had been grasped for generations had suffered the same imperialistic might as the southwest part of the U.S. And to my astonishment, in my research I had found that my gr. gr. Grandfather, a man named Thomas Booth Cummings had migrated from Boston to Lahaina at about the same time Nicholas Den had arrived at the stream that separated the two Indian villages in Southern California. And I am proud to say that he, like Den, had proceeded to assimilate totally into the Hawaiian culture at a time when its people were being ravaged by an ever increasing foreign population.
It may seem over simplified to say this, given a 160 years has past, yet it is a simple demeanor that many even today refuse to enlist, and that is “live and let live”.
In the case of Santa Barbara’s Royal Rancho: The fabulous history of Los Dos Pueblos, an unmistakable parallel consumed me throughout the book. The mid 19th century has always intrigued me for reasons that brought glory to our country and yet great shame. It was a time when an emerging new nation was striving to take its place along side the imperialistic giants, England, France, Spain and to a lesser degree Portugal.
This ironic parallel that I felt did not take place until my fourth reading of the novel in October of 2006. I had first read Walker A. Tompkins epic work in the winter of 1979. I don’t recall when I preceded to engulf my self into his work, but do remember it was twice within the following twenty years.
His main character Nicholas Den was not of the same demeanor as his peers of the day. That is to say that not many white men in the mid 1880’s were willing to assimilate totally into the native cultures of which they chose to settle with. This was the age of manifest destiny, and most Americans believed it was a divinity from God. Yet God could not have stood in their hearts as they slaughtered, enslaved and ravaged the native populations, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Nicholas Den was the first white man to settle the Dos Pueblos area near Santa Barbara and in doing so assimilated totally into the native culture. His willingness to do so brought him respect and success, as well as a life that was compliant with the native cultures of the Santa Barbara natives. For me, the novel conveyed that a humanistic approach to the merging of cultures was clearly advantageous to all involved. Yet it was not the prevailing mood of the times. America had devised its strategies under the banner that might makes right. Unfortunately that philosophy extended to the end of the nineteenth century
The parallel that I drew on a somewhat personal level with my last review of the book, had to do with my ensuing research into the history of my own family. Hawai’i where my roots had been grasped for generations had suffered the same imperialistic might as the southwest part of the U.S. And to my astonishment, in my research I had found that my gr. gr. Grandfather, a man named Thomas Booth Cummings had migrated from Boston to Lahaina at about the same time Nicholas Den had arrived at the stream that separated the two Indian villages in Southern California. And I am proud to say that he, like Den, had proceeded to assimilate totally into the Hawaiian culture at a time when its people were being ravaged by an ever increasing foreign population.
It may seem over simplified to say this, given a 160 years has past, yet it is a simple demeanor that many even today refuse to enlist, and that is “live and let live”.
November 4, 2015
Extremely readable book about the history of Santa Barbara and surrounding areas. Super interesting.
April 9, 2015
Great read. So informative.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews