A STORY OF OLD CALIFORNIA

The present 1,800 acre Camulos Ranch, established by Ygnacio del Valle in 1853, was carved out of the 48,612 acre Rancho San Francisco, granted in 1839 to Ygnacio’s father Antonio del Valle, majordomo and administrator of Mission San Fernando. Camulos was located at the western boundary of the rancho and was originally a Tataviam Indian village known as Kamulus. The San Fernando Mission used the area as early as 1804 for raising small animals and crops grown by the Indians, who numbered 416 when visited by Inspector General of the Missions in 1839. 

Antonio del Valle and his family lived at the eastern edge of the ranch near Castaic in the former San Fernando Mission granary adobe building. After Antonio’s death in 1841. Ygnacio received the western portion of the ranch known as Camulos and built a corral and stocked it with cattle in 1842. He bought back some of the Rancho San Francisco acreage from the other del Valle heirs and also acquired Rancho Temescal, north of Piru. Ygnacio’s first wife died in childbirth in 1842. He was married a second time to 15-year-old Ysabel Varela of Los Angeles. They settled in Los Angeles near the Olvera Street plaza. The following year he built the first four rooms of what became the main adobe at Camulos, initially occupied by Ygnacio’s majordomo (foreman).

Ygnacio and Ysabel lived in Los Angeles for almost a decade, during which time Ygnacio held a number of elected positions. Between 1853 and 1861, five children were born to them. After the birth of their fifth child, Josefa, in 1861, the family moved permanently to Camulos and added three new rooms and a basement to the original adobe. Many of the Tataviam Indians continued to live and work at the ranch and helped to make the adobe blocks used in the construction. Some of these Indians are buried in the del Valle family cemetery. Between 1862 and 1870, seven more children were born at Camulos. Of twelve children total, only five lived to adulthood.

The drought of the 1860s took its toll on del Valle cattle and crops, forcing the del Valles to sell most of the Rancho San Francisco in 1865. However, Camulos continued to evolve into a diverse agricultural operation. By the time of Ygnacio’s death in 1880, the ranch had grown from a few hundred head of-cattle in the 1840s to a thriving, virtually self-contained ranch. It consisted of approximately 1290 acres of citrus, vineyards, almonds, grain and vegetables, and supported close to 200 residents. In addition to the del Valles, large numbers of Mexicans and Indians were employed on the ranch. The single four room adobe, built in 1853, grew into a twenty room adobe surrounded by numerous other buildings, including a brick winery, chapel, barn and workers’ housing. The isolation of the Santa Clara Valley was broken with the arrival of the stagecoach in 1874 and the railroad in 1887.

Throughout its long history Rancho Camulos has had a diverse and rich agricultural history. The first oranges grown and shipped commercially from what is now Ventura County were from the Camulos Ranch in 1876. In addition, the rancho produced annual crops of citrus, almonds, walnuts, apricots, peaches, wheat, corn and barley. Grapevines were also cultivated at Camulos for the production of wine and brandy. It was the wine grape that brought the first real commercial success for the del Valle family in the 19th century. Camulos wines and brandies enjoyed a good reputation throughout Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. During the 1860s, ninety acres of wine grapes were planted, a brick winery built, and a license obtained for brandy distilling. The federal industrial census for 1870 records the Camulos Ranch winery as the largest of the four vintners in the San Buenaventura Township of Santa Barbara County, with 45 tons of grapes resulting in 6,000 gallons of wine and 800 gallons of brandy.

In 1908 the ranch was incorporated as the del Valle Company by Ulpiano and his remaining brothers and sisters for the purpose of raising crops and livestock, acquiring water rights, and developing oil resources. Eventually, friction within the family and the death of several family members forced the sale of the ranch in 1924 to the August Rubel family. Shortly after the sale of Camulos to the Rubel family, The Los Angeles Times wrote a sentimental, nostalgic story about the transfer of property:

An era in the history of California closed yesterday. The del Valles of Camulos bade farewell to the homestead where they have lived in successive generations since Antonio del Valle. It was the passing of the old regime. They are said to be the last of the old Spanish families who held in unbroken succession to the ancestral acres. [Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1924.]