 "Judge" Pleasants, an armed conflict between American fur trappers, led by William Wolfskill, and a group of Tongva Indians occurred in 1831.Under Spanish, and later Mexican rule, the canyon was called "Cañada de los Indios".Much of grassy foothill terrain to the west (across Irvine Lake) was part of the expansive Mexican land grant of "Rancho Lomas de Santiago (Ranch of Saint James' Hills)".