Local History, pics with traditional traditionals.

[Horsewright]

Fascinating post, Dave.

Thanks Vince!

 

[Misplaced Hillbilly]

The back story, a little history, if you'll pardon the pun. This is my step daughter Smoke. I've raised her since she was 5 so we've pretty much forgotten about the step part, she and I.

And the knife she carries:

She herself is some living Californio history as she is a Descendiente, a descendent of one of the few Spanish Californio families here in California before the gold rush. Our town of Tehachapi was started in 1861 and her family the Leiva's had been here since at least the late 1840's. She is a 7th generation Tehachapian and her great, great, great grandfather was Don Antonio Leiva who was a legendary Vaquero and horseman, amongst legends, as the Californios were considered the finest horseman of all time. Don Antonio was the Caporal (cowboss, second in command) on Rancho El Tejon (the largest ranch in California history) for approx 40 years from the 1870's on. Ya know the apple falling not far from the tree deal:

Anyhoo. Smoke had yesterday off and she wanted to come up and do some riding as she is preparing for a show in July. She is an ER Tech down in Bakersfield and she'll come up and ride when she can. Since this is usually every other week or so we keep her horse turned out with the old retired horses, out at the ranch. When she needs him, we'll go find him. We pulled into the ranch with the stock trailer yesterday morning to find them, an almost spring like day. Way up on top of Hat Hill we could see the horses. They were grazing down so we went to another part of the ranch and blasted a few ground squirrels with .22s we'd brought along. This gave the horses time to graze back down. Couple of hours later we went back and saw them down off of Hat Hill but grazing towards Salt Flat up Corral Canyon. So we still had a pretty good up hill hike to go get him but we did. On the way back we stopped at a historic site on the ranch that predates even the Californios here in California.

The Native Americans in this part of California relied on an acorn mash as a major food source. The women would grind the acorns into a mash using these granite grinding stones. Over the centuries some of these holes became quite pronounced. This grinding stone area has eleven holes that I've counted in various depths.

These grinding rocks are always located above a water source. Water was needed to remove the tannic acid from the acorn mash. Here we have this seasonal creek that ends in a pond.

A source of acorns was needed too and Hog Canyon, that is heavily wooded in oaks, joins Corral Canyon right here near the grinding rocks:

We have two other grinding stones on the ranch that I know of, probably more though, that I haven't found. I've seen several hundreds of these stones in my travels about California but I've never seen one with that many holes all in one stone/place. I would assume this would indicate a very long term settlement, to have so many holes and some of them very deep.

We got back to where we'd left the truck and trailer:

Saw how still the old cowdog would stand:

And then drove back to the house and saddled up.

Very interesting post. Humbling to remember no matter how far our European roots go back in this country,there are those with roots much deeper.
I once looked up the oldest continuous family run businesses in the U.S., both were cattle operations.
The second oldest was Stuart Land and Cattle Co. In Virginia, oddly enough about 20 minutes from where I went to high school. The other is a ranch I cant recall the name of in California. The same family has been ranching there since before the United States was even a dream in a disgruntled Englishmans mind. But those grinding stones were being used centuries before anyone set sail from Spain or England. Good stuff

 

[Mayonardo]

Horsewright Beautiful story. I remember taking the kids to Grinding Rocks State Park when we lived in California.

 

[Old Hunter]

Dave, great post - some history I knew nothing of. Thanks, OH
Ps. You’re daughter sounds very squared away.

 

[AkAlces]

The back story, a little history, if you'll pardon the pun. This is my step daughter Smoke. I've raised her since she was 5 so we've pretty much forgotten about the step part, she and I.

And the knife she carries:

She herself is some living Californio history as she is a Descendiente, a descendent of one of the few Spanish Californio families here in California before the gold rush. Our town of Tehachapi was started in 1861 and her family the Leiva's had been here since at least the late 1840's. She is a 7th generation Tehachapian and her great, great, great grandfather was Don Antonio Leiva who was a legendary Vaquero and horseman, amongst legends, as the Californios were considered the finest horseman of all time. Don Antonio was the Caporal (cowboss, second in command) on Rancho El Tejon (the largest ranch in California history) for approx 40 years from the 1870's on. Ya know the apple falling not far from the tree deal:

Anyhoo. Smoke had yesterday off and she wanted to come up and do some riding as she is preparing for a show in July. She is an ER Tech down in Bakersfield and she'll come up and ride when she can. Since this is usually every other week or so we keep her horse turned out with the old retired horses, out at the ranch. When she needs him, we'll go find him. We pulled into the ranch with the stock trailer yesterday morning to find them, an almost spring like day. Way up on top of Hat Hill we could see the horses. They were grazing down so we went to another part of the ranch and blasted a few ground squirrels with .22s we'd brought along. This gave the horses time to graze back down. Couple of hours later we went back and saw them down off of Hat Hill but grazing towards Salt Flat up Corral Canyon. So we still had a pretty good up hill hike to go get him but we did. On the way back we stopped at a historic site on the ranch that predates even the Californios here in California.

The Native Americans in this part of California relied on an acorn mash as a major food source. The women would grind the acorns into a mash using these granite grinding stones. Over the centuries some of these holes became quite pronounced. This grinding stone area has eleven holes that I've counted in various depths.

These grinding rocks are always located above a water source. Water was needed to remove the tannic acid from the acorn mash. Here we have this seasonal creek that ends in a pond.

A source of acorns was needed too and Hog Canyon, that is heavily wooded in oaks, joins Corral Canyon right here near the grinding rocks:

We have two other grinding stones on the ranch that I know of, probably more though, that I haven't found. I've seen several hundreds of these stones in my travels about California but I've never seen one with that many holes all in one stone/place. I would assume this would indicate a very long term settlement, to have so many holes and some of them very deep.

We got back to where we'd left the truck and trailer:

Saw how still the old cowdog would stand:

And then drove back to the house and saddled up.

What kind of oaks do you have around those parts, Dave?

 

[Horsewright]

What kind of oaks do you have around those parts, Dave?

Black oaks for the most part. Some pin oaks and live oaks but mostly black.