North Hills Tutors

About North Hills

North Hills was actually known as Sepulveda until very recently, it’s new name came into effect in the late 1990’s. The major thoroughfare through North Hills is Sepulveda Blvd. Sepulveda Blvd is the longest street in the city of Los Angeles and stretches all the way from the South Bay to the northern San Fernando Valley .

The name Sepulveda originates from the prominent Sepulveda family, more specifically their patriarch, Mexican born Francisco Xavier Sepúlveda. He married Maria Candelaria de Redondo in 1762, and was accompanied by her, their six children and José de Zúñiga on their expedition to the upper Las Californias in 1781. This move was motivated by the Spanish government who wanted to establish a presence in Alta California by people of Spanish descent who were devoid of Indian or Mestizo blood. The problem was very few ‘hidalgos’ (sons of someone) wanted to relocate north and people the Spanish frontier. Where Sepulveda Blvd now terminates in the north, is on a part of the Sepulveda family ranch, Ranchos Palos Verdes.

North Hills’ tutors can research the vibrant history of the community through preserved documents in local libraries. A great resource for students and tutors alike is the Los Angeles Assessor’s Book. The book is of great interest to North Hill’s tutors as it is home to a wealth of painstakingly recorded descriptions and values of real and personal property owned by Los Angeles’ residents. It was researched and collated by Antonio Franco Coronel in 1854 when he was in his late thirties. Antonio Franco Coronel original fought against US forces, serving in the Mexican Artillery. It wasn’t until 1850 that he became a US citizen, and within just a few years he became the City of Los Angeles’ mayor. It was within this role that he was responsible for recording official property ownership information. Numerous surnames that are easily recognizable to current Angelenos are listed in his works, and are used as street or neighborhood names, including Verdugo, Pico and of course Sepulveda.

The Sepulvedas’ land ownership extends beyond that of Ranchos Palos Verdes. Two of Francisco Xavier Sepúlveda’s sons, Juan Jose Sepulveda and Francisco Sepulveda, and their children too, followed in their family’s footsteps. The grandchildren claimed five land grants, and extended their empire to numerous Ranchos which still exist today they include San Joaquin, Santiago de Santa Ana, Las Cienegas, San Vicente and Santa Monica.

Francisco Xavier Sepúlveda is buried at San Gabriel Mission Cemetery. Francisco Xavier Sepúlveda was first stationed at Mission San Gabriel .