José del Carmen Lugo

Who is José del Carmen Lugo?

José del Carmen Lugo was a major Californio landowner in the Los Angeles area, who worked beginning in 1839 to develop the San Bernardino and Yucaipa valleys, an area of more than 250,000 acres. He made an alliance with the regional Cahuilla Indians.

During the Mexican-American War, Lugo led a Californio militia. In December 1846 he was ordered to punish a band of Luiseño Indians in retaliation for the Pauma Massacre. His militia forces, together with allied Cahuilla, killed 33-40 Luiseño in the Temecula Massacre to avenge the deaths of 11 Californio lancers. The latter were killed for stealing horses from the Luiseño.

After the United States won the Mexican-American War and annexed California, the military governor in May 1849 appointed Lugo as the first Californio alcalde of Los Angeles under US control.