The Ladera Ranch community is well known amongst those living and working in and around the OC.
But very few know the long history behind its unique Name!
The word “Ladera” means “hillside” in Spanish. When picking a name for the new development, the builders wanted something evoking the stunning rolling hills landscape. They chose “Ladera Ranch” to reflect the sloping terrain of the planned community.
This name surprisingly has deeper roots. Before becoming Ladera Ranch, the land was part of Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores – a legendary 93,000-acre Mexican land grant. In the 1830s, Governor Jose Figueroa gave the grant to Jose Andres Sepulveda, a military man and rancher from Los Angeles.
Sepulveda established Rancho Santa Margarita, transforming the land into a thriving cattle ranch. The hilly, rocky terrain now part of Ladera Ranch was ideal pasture for his herds. Adobe houses dotted the land while irrigation ditches from creeks watered the farms.
After the Mexican-American War, the ranch came under American control, passing through multiple owners till the Mission Land company acquired it in the 1960s. Mission Land had ambitious plans to develop the ranch land into a master-planned community.
The original name considered was “Rancho Margarita”, nodding to its ranching roots. But that name was taken, so they settled on “Ladera Ranch” – honoring the community’s Spanish and Mexican heritage while accurately describing its hilly canyon landscape.
The name “Ladera Ranch” evokes not just the community’s rich ranching history but also its Spanish and Mexican origins. The land grant, rancho lifestyle, and heritage of the early Mexican ranch hands are all part of Ladera Ranch’s story. Though much has changed since those rancho days, remnants of the past still remain.
Portions of the original adobe ranch house built by Sepulveda still stand today. Road names like Calle Avanzado, Camino Capistrano, and Via Las Brisas acknowledge the community’s Spanish and Mexican roots. And of course, the very name “Ladera Ranch” conjures images of cattle grazing on the rolling hills – a link to the ranching past that shaped the land and ultimately inspired its name.
So next time you see a street sign for Ladera Ranch or drive through the community, think of Jose Sepulveda and his vaqueros herding cattle across these same leaders, or hillsides, nearly 200 years ago. The name is a fitting tribute to the land’s history of Spanish ranches, Mexican land grants, and the rugged, sloping hills that remain largely unchanged to this day. It serves as a reminder of Ladera Ranch’s cultural heritage and deep connection to the past, even as the community looks toward an exciting future. The history behind the name truly encapsulates Ladera Ranch’s identity, combining remembrance of its ranching roots with pride in its Spanish and Mexican origins.