Carbon Canyon Cattle and Horse Rancher Passes

A neighbor passed along the news today that Bill Friend, who has been running the cattle and horses that so many of us see along the Chino Hills and Brea portions of Carbon Canyon and beyond, including the adjoining Soquel Canyon, died on Sunday.

Friend, who was in his 80s, was often seen with his old pickup truck, stopped at the two major locations where he handled his herds--these being along Carbon Canyon Road east of the Summit Ranch subdivision and further west across from the intersection of the state highway and Canyon Hills Road across from the Circle K market.

His animals grazed widely on city-owned open space, as well as private held land that he leased and they have contributed greatly to the visual sense of the rural heritage of Carbon Canyon. 

It is not too much of a reach to suggest that he was carrying on a tradition that dated back to at least the 1840s when Antonio Maria Lugo acquired the Rancho Santa Ana del Chino, which extended westward well into the Canyon and when cattle and horses were the economic lifeblood of the southern California region for several decades afterward. 

Locally, cattle, sheep and horses were part of the environment of what became Chino Hills until very recently as development finally came to the area in the latter half of the 20th century.  Friend's grazing of his herds was a vestige of that tradition.

What will become of the animals remains to be seen.  While the city open space at the east end of the canyon might still be used for such purposes, there is said to be an application to be submitted soon to the City of Chino Hills for a large housing development on the land closer to Sleepy Hollow across from the Circle K.

It is possible that the ranching and grazing era might well be coming to a close with Friend's passing.  If so, it brings another element of change that could lead to a significant altering of Carbon Canyon as we know it.  Hopefully, someone will be interested in carrying on the operation.

Condolences are offered to Mr. Friend's family on their loss.

REVISED 21 November:  More information was made available on an e-mail from a Chino Valley Independent Fire District inspector, who added this link here with a 2011 article from the Chino Hills Champion on Mr. Friend and his family's long history in the Carbon Canyon area.