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Living in the Big House: Stories from Mangels Ranch

Aptos History Museum

Discover the history of Mangels Ranch, a redwood retreat established in the 1880s, and its grand 18-room Victorian mansion, the Big House, through stories shared by Mangels family descendants.

Mangels Ranch has been a redwood paradise along Aptos creek since the 1880s. In 1884 Claus Mangels (1832-1891) acquired the property from his brother-in-law Claus Spreckels.  Mangels was a wealthy San Francisco brewer and capitalist and developed the property to serve as a summer retreat for family. At its greatest extent the ranch claimed 545 acres -- from Aptos Village Park to the Steel Bridge on Aptos Creek road; from Vienna Woods by Cabrillo College to Monte Toyon on Cathedral drive. Mangels House, built 1887 and now owned by the Fisher family, still stands majestic among the redwoods -- an 18-room Victorian mansion long ago christened the "Big House" by its first occupants. Come hear old-time stories of Mangels Ranch & the Big House from descendants of the Mangels family.