Tejon Ranch, California

Said to be the largest contiguous private land holding in California, the Tejon Ranch was first amassed by General Edward Beale in the 19th century, when Beale was the surveyor general for the state, and generally claimed what he surveyed for himself. The Tejon Ranch has been owned by a group that included Los Angeles's historical Chandler family. The 420-square mile (270,000-acre) property in the Tehachapi Mountains reaches from the Antelope Valley to the San Joaquin Valley, on both sides of Interstate 5, through the portion of highway called the Grapevine (the town of Grapevine is owned by Tejon Ranch). While there are plans to include housing tracts as part of the larger Tejon Ranch project, as of 2016, only the Tejon Ranch Commerce Center (a 1,450-acre commercial/industrial center), and The Outlets at Tejon (an outlet retail center), have been developed.