RLC Adobe - The Library

The Rancho’s library dates to the building’s renovation in the 1930s. By combining a storage room, office, and bedroom, Llewellyn Bixby Sr. created this large library where he and his wife Avis spent their time reading, listening to the wireless radio, and doing crossword puzzles. Above the card catalog hangs a portrait of Jotham Bixby, often called the "Father of Long Beach" for his role in civic development. Above the fireplace hang portraits of John & Rafaela Temple, for whom the adobe was built in 1844.

The current exhibition on display at the library, Freedom West: Resistance and Triumph in California. This exhibit explores the spread of the Abolition Movement to the west through the narratives of three African American activists: Biddy Mason, Mary Ellen Pleasant, and Mifflin Wistar Gibbs. The exhibit also looks at their involvement in the Underground Railroad and the different facets of this secret network that helped thousands escape enslavement. 

Now part of the Long Beach Public Library system, the reference books on display here are part of a specialized collection of California history materials that are available for on-site use. Although some researchers choose to peruse the card catalog system, which is still maintained and continually updated to reflect new acquisitions, Rancho Los Cerritos’ reference collection is also cataloged through the City’s library database, http://longbeach.gov/library/.