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| HISTORY OF ROLLING HILLS ESTATES AND ROLLING HILLS BY MAUREEN MEGOWAN, REMAX PALOS VERDES REALTY Both Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates were part of the original Rancho San Pedro and the Rancho de los Palos Verdes ( See the History of the South Bay for a discussion of the original Indian inhabitants of the Palos Verdes Peninsula and the original Spanish land grant Ranchos ). They were also part of the original Palos Verdes Project, totaling approx. 16,000 acres, which was the original master plan for the Palos Verdes Peninsula, which Mr. Frank Vanderlip had acquired with other investors in 1912. In 1922, Frank Vanderlip sold 3,225 acres of the Palos Verdes Project to investors that became the City of Palos Verdes Estates, but retained the other 13,000 acres for future development, which included the areas on the Palos Verdes Peninsula that ultimately became the cities of Rolling Hills Estates and Rolling Hills. ROLLING HILLS The City of Rolling Hills was incorporated in 1957. The Rolling Hills City Hall was constructed in 1967. It is a gated community designed to preserve the equestrian lifestyle. Most of the homes in the city consist primarily of luxury ranch style homes, and many have been built to accommodate the boarding of horses. The city maintains an extensive system of riding trails throughout the community. The person most responsible for the character and planning of Rolling Hills was A.E. Hanson, who was the General Manager of the Palos Verdes Corporation beginning in March 1931. In 1931, Crest road was completed, which gave access to one of the few structures then in existence in Rolling Hills, a run-down abandoned ranch house on the north side of Crest road, which had been originally built in the mid-1880's. Mr. Hanson renovated and expanded this ranch house in the early 1930's for his family, and named it "Rancho Elastico". The only other structure in Rolling Hills was the old Harry Phillips ranch headquarters, which was near the present day Empty Saddle Club (which was formed in 1941). Mr. Phillips had been the Rancho de los Palos Verdes ranch manager, appointed by George Bixby in 1894. Mr. Hanson, shortly after he became manager of the Palos Verdes Corporation, in 1931, laid out the boundaries of a development he would later name "Rolling Hills", which boundaries extended from Palos Verdes Drive North (which was constructed from 1933 to 1935) to Crest Road, and from Georgeff Canyon on the east and Agua Negra canyon on the west. Palos Verdes Corporation's main investor was Frank Vanderlip and owned the balance of the 13,000 acres of the Palos Verdes Peninsula which was not part of the Palos Verdes Project (which would later become the City of Palos Verdes Estates and also consisted of the Miraleste area of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes). The Rolling Hills development consisted of approx. 600 acres and 100 home sites. The first gatehouse for Rolling Hills was constructed in 1935 just off of Palos Verdes Drive North. Mr. Hanson dictated that all homes in Rolling Hills would be painted white, and that the lots would be fenced in by a 3-rail white fence. At this time, there were almost no trees in Rolling Hills, and to promote their planting, Mr. Hanson gave away 5 olive trees to each purchaser of a home site in excess of 5 acres. In 1939, Mr. Hanson developed the first homes to be sold in Rolling Hills (all previous sales consisting only of land for homes), a development called "Williamsburg Lane", which he named after Williamsburg, Virginia. Mr. Hanson had the homes designed in the manner that he had seen in Williamsburg, Virginia. This development consisted of 14 homes, and were 1.5 acres and 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, and were offered for $8,750. In December 1940, at the depths of the Depression, the Palos Verdes Corporation was deep in debt for unpaid property taxes, and Frank A. Vanderlip, Frank Vanderlip's eldest son who controlled the Palos Verdes Corporation after the elder Mr. Vanderlip's death in 1937, told Mr. Hanson to do whatever was necessary to raise money to pay these taxes. At that time, Mr. Hanson advertised one acre sites, near the Los Verdes Country Club, for sale for $185, however received no takers!. To this day, the vision of Mr. Hanson for Rolling Hills has been maintained.  Aerial shot of the entrance to Rolling Hills looking up Portuguese Bend Road, about 1935 (Dicalite mine in left foreground). ROLLING HILLS ESTATES The City of Rolling Hills Estates officially became Los Angeles County's 60th municipality on September 18, 1957. In that first year, the City's population totaled only 3,500; but its new citizens were united in their concern over maintaining the community's rural atmosphere characterized by rolling hills, vast open spaces and white fences. Annexation of new areas to the City was another ongoing concern during the City's early years. In 1959, the Montecillo, Chandler Quarry, Country Club Estates and northern Masongate areas were added to the eastern and western portions of the City. Later annexations from 1960-66 included the research and development land behind the Northrop Corporation; the Peninsula Center, Harbor Sight, the Ranch, Rolling Hills Park Estates, Highridge, Hillcrest Manor, Hillcrest Meadows, Terraces, and Cresta Verdes areas. In 1982, the site of the former Palos Verdes Landfill was annexed to assure that City concerns regarding this closed facility would be recognized.
This General Telephone ad was from "Harpers Magazine" July 1961, inside back cover. Ad courtesy of Ed Sharpe Director/Archivist for SMECC and RHHS (now Peninsula High) Class of '70 (Del Cerro) - www.smecc.org Click on the following for additional information on the history of the South Bay beach communities: HISTORY OF THE SOUTH BAY HISTORY OF PALOS VERDES ESTATES HISTORY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES HISTORY OF MANHATTAN BEACH HISTORY OF HERMOSA BEACH HISTORY OF REDONDO BEACH HISTORY OF EL SEGUNDO HISTORY OF TORRANCE HISTORY OF SAN PEDRO HISTORY OF LOMITA Historical photos courtesy of the Palos Verdes Library History of Rolling Hills Estates:http://www.palosverdes.com/rhe/news/handbook/index.cfm#HistoryofRHE Rolling Hills-The Early Years, A.E. Hanson Daily Breeze article on the Palos Verdes Research Park (page A4 of 12/31/06) Southwest Museum of Engineering, Communications and Computation  COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Graphics, content and html coding may not be reproduced or copied in any way with out written permission from Maureen Megowan All html coding, layout and original content and graphics are copyrighted - Maureen Megowan and may not be used, copied or reproduced on another web site. Maureen Megowan makes no guarantees or warranties as to the information provided herein CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAUREEN MEGOWAN REAL ESTATE HOME PAGE
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