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Los Angeles
While the gold rush and its masses of
foreigners quickly overwhelmed the north, Los Angeles and much of southern California
generally held on to its Mexican culture and traditions. The voracious appetites of miners
created a cattle boom which sustained the southern Californio ranching economy for nearly
a decade. But Los Angeles was at a crossroads. Opportunistic legislation, steep taxation,
and costly land litigation resulted in dramatic changes. As the southern California cattle
industry declined, irrigation systems opened newly acquired lands to cultivation, and
agriculture blossomed with grains, vegetables and citrus. California's new gold was
orange! The Southern Pacific Railroad put the southland on wheels, and boosted the citrus
industry. The railroad Above: Pio Pico, Wife and Nieces, Collection of Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History
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wielded enormous
political power, and obtained huge tracks of land. They promoted a massive land boom, and
hundreds of thousands of new immigrants were lured to southern California: Eden was for
sale.