Hollywood actor Leo Carrillo may be best known as Pancho, the mischievous sidekick to the Cisco Kid on the pioneering 1950s television series. But in Carlsbad, Calif., he is the revered preservationist of El Rancho de los Kiotes, "The Ranch of the Spanish Daggers."
The grandson of an 1830s governor of California and son of the first mayor of Santa Monica, Carrillo took great pride in his Spanish-California heritage. His grandparents once owned Coronado Island off San Diego. In 1937, searching for a weekend retreat where he could re-create an old California working rancho, he discovered the historic Kelly ranch at Carlsbad.
Those 840 acres were just the beginning. Eventually his spread would grow to more than 2, 500 acres. Carrillo expanded the original 1880s adobe hacienda and added numerous outbuildings, including stables, barns, a cabana, cantina, carriage house and foundry. Despite his glamorous Hollywood connections, he kept El Rancho de los Kiotes rustic, functional and authentic.
After Carrillo died in 1961, much of the ranch was subdivided. By 1977, the city of Carlsbad was able to save just 10.5 acres. Though the land included the most important original buildings, many of them needed serious repairs. Today, though, thanks in part to a partnership between the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Save America’s Treasures, and HGTV, the Leo Carrillo Ranch Historic Park is a popular educational and recreational resource honoring Hispanic pride and the traditions of southwest adobe craftsmanship.
Sites in the 2004-2005 Restore America: A Salute to Preservation campaign.
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