The legacy of the Old West and the great American Cowboy is still alive and well on Tejon Ranch.  Cattle operations on the ranch have changed little over the last 150 years, as cattle and cowboys on horseback still roam Tejon’s vast territory.  

The Ranch’s cattle brand, the Cross and Crescent, was recorded inKernCountyin 1868. Don Jose Jesus (J.J.) Lopez, the longest-serving majordomo of the Ranch, recounted the history of the brand in a 1916 interview.  He says the brand’s origin was traced back to Old Spain around 997 A.D.  Conquistadors brought the brand to Mexico when they traveled to the New World, and their descendants ultimately carried the brand to the Tejon Ranch.  It’s believed to be the oldest cattle brand still in use today.

Cattle have long been Tejon Ranch’s largest single group of inhabitants. An 1891 appraisal by W. H. Holabird showed the cattle count on the Ranch to be 25,000.  There were also 7,500 sheep, 350 mules and horses, and 200 miles of fence listed in the report.  Though sheep no longer graze the pastures of Tejon, the cattle continue to have a major presence.  Depending on the time of season, the Ranch is home to up to 16,000 head of cattle.

Today, cattle operations on Tejon are conducted by two separate livestock tenants. Matt Echeverria, former livestock manager and interim president of Tejon Ranch, runs cattle on a 55,000-acre lease on the northern portion of the ranch, while Centennial Livestock leases 195,000 acres in the central and southern areas of the ranch.