Leonis Adobe Essay

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Leonis Adobe Project The Leonis adobe is believed to have first been built in 1844 on the El Escorpion Rancho. The daughter of a Chumash chief, Espiritu Chijulla, had inherited the land after he died. Mogul Leonis was a powerful french basque who controlled much of San Fernando Valley at the time. He was always looking for an opportunity to own more land. So he married Espiritu and therefore gained all her 1,100 acres of land, cattle, sheep, and horses. Around 1880, Leonis discovered the abandoned adobe. He restored and expanded the house into Monterey-Style mansion. This became home to Miguel and espiritu leonis. they had a daughter together, Marcelina. unfortunately, she died from smallpox at the age of twenty. Miguel leonis in 1889 after a stage wagon accident. it had overturned and badly injured leonis. when he died his estate was valued at $300,000. however, in his will, leonis only left a small portion of the land to espiritu. he had referred to her as his housekeeper and not his wife. espiritu took a very bold and brave move and sued for her property back. it took fifteen years to prove she was his legal wife and win her case. sadly enough espiritu died a year later. her son from a previous marriage lived there until 1921 when it was sold to Lester Agoure. after many years, the home became abandoned. In the 1960s the adobe was about to be torn down until a woman by the name of Kay Beachy rescued the home by purchasing it and bringing it to restoration again. The Cultural Heritage Foundation named the adobe the Historical Cultural Monument #1. In 1962, she formed the non-profit Leonis Adobe Association, which to this day still continues to maintain the property. on my trip to the Leonis Adobe Museum, i was welcomed by Michelle, where she gave me and my fellow classmates a tour of the museum. it was amazing to see everything preserved the way it is.
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