Afterward, the property was the subject of a legal dispute between his common-law wife, Espiritu Chijulla (1836 – May 10, 1906); heirs; and a daughter born out of wedlock.

In 1961, the adobe had fallen victim to vandalism, and its owner applied for a permit to raze the structure and erect a supermarket in its place.

Preservationists succeeded in having the adobe declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #1 in 1962, saving it from the wrecking ball at the last minute.

[5] The adobe was built in stages and, by the 1870s, Leonis had extensively enlarged and remodeled the dwelling into the Monterey Colonial-style mansion that remains today.

[6] Leonis came to Southern California as "an ignorant Basque sheep herder and blossomed into a robber baron holding feudal sway by the aid of a small army of vaqueros.

In 1875, a conflict with a group of former Union soldiers who tried to settle on his lands led to two weeks of violence and killings, culminating in a battle in what is now Hidden Hills.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the entire French population was surprised that he left such a small sum to the woman "who has for nearly thirty years been considered his wife.

"[15] When Espiritu took the stand, she testified that she met Leonis at the Escorpion Indian camp in 1859, lived with him for 30 years, and even had a daughter with him who died before adulthood.

"[17] After a five-week trial, the jury took less than a day to return its verdict finding in favor of Espiritu and awarding her one-half of the Leonis estate.

[7][19][20][21] So completely was Espiritu taken advantage of that "it is said that she was at one time reduced to a diet of acorns which she picked up off the ground at her home, her property being so tied up in the courts.

"[19] When the 65-year-old Espiritu married an 18-year-old man, the Los Angeles Times could not restrain itself, noting that her new husband was "barely out of pinafores" and that the "frisky" old woman's "affections appear to have been bubbling at a lively rate, in spite of her well-worn widow's weeds.

[25] Opponents submitted petitions to the City Planning Commission and sought to establish protected landmark status for the property.

"[28] As efforts proved unsuccessful to find funding to pay the $240,000 demanded by the adobe's owner, Kay Beachy announced in March 1963 that she had paid the requested $240,000 to Milton Katz for the property.

[31] According to Leonis' biographer Laura B. Gaye (1905–1981), the new residents heard footsteps on the stairs followed by two loud thuds from the upstairs bedroom resembling the sound of boots dropping to the floor.

[8] A young Calabasas resident claimed to see the ghost of Leonis dressed in an old-fashioned coat walking his sheep dog down the street near the adobe.

[5] It has been listed as a historic building at the city and national level as follows: The Leonis Adobe in recent years has operated as a living history museum to the California ranch style of life.

The museum is a popular location for school field trips in which students step back in time to the 1880s by touring the property and participating in recreations of 1880s lifeways.

[33] In January 2010 Huell Howser spotlighted the Leonis Adobe on his show Visiting... for PBS (a spin-off of his California Gold series).