The land that today includes Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods, and part of Laguna Niguel was once Rancho Niguel, a 13,000 acre rancho named after a Native American village along Aliso Creek and owned by Don Juan Avila. Born in Los Angeles to Antonio Ignacio Avila and Rosa Ruiz de Avila of Santa Barbara, he was the first of the Avila family to settle in Saddleback Valley, where he raised cattle for their hides. In 1833 he married Soledad Yorba, and they had four children; the youngest, Teofilo Pisano, died in childhood, while Rosa, Guadalupe, and Manuel Donaciano lived to marry and have children. On June 21, 1842, Governor Alvarado of California granted Rancho Niguel to Juan Avila in reward for his service to the government as juez del campo, or judge of the plains, and he and his wife were recognized as Don and Doña as owners of a large rancho. After the discovery of gold in California, he increased his wealth by selling cattle for beef to northern miners and earned the nickname El Rico. He became known for generosity, hospitality, honesty, and kindness, opening his home to travelers along El Camino Real, and the Avila adobe became a center for community celebrations and a refuge for people in need. It was also the site of a historic meeting where Commodore Stockton and Brigadier General Kearney persuaded Juan Avila to aid the American Army at the Battle of La Mesa during the Mexican American War. He remained Don of Rancho Niguel until 1865, when he sold the property to Juan Forster and moved to a larger residence in San Juan Capistrano. His wife, Soledad Yorba de Avila, died two years later during a smallpox epidemic. Juan Avila lived more than twenty years after her death, never remarried, and died in San Juan Capistrano on December 23, 1889, at age 77. His life spanned the eras of Spanish Franciscans, Mexican dons, and American settlers, and he was remembered as one of the area's largest landowners, the Don of Rancho Niguel.