Rancho Arroyo Grande was a 4437 acres (18 km²) Mexican land grant

Ranchos of California

The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...

 in present day San Luis Obispo County, California

San Luis Obispo County, California

San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...

 given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Zeferino Carlón. The grant extended along Arroyo Grande Creek east of present day Arroyo Grande

Arroyo Grande, California

Arroyo Grande is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 17,252 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Arroyo Grande is a small coastal town with historic, suburban, and rural elements located at...

. Much of the grant is now covered by Lopez Lake

Lopez Lake

Lopez Lake is a reservoir near the city of Arroyo Grande in San Luis Obispo County, California. The lake is formed by Lopez Dam on Arroyo Grande Creek, upstream from the Pacific Ocean. The creek drains about above the dam and below. The dam was built in 1969 and is operated by the San Luis...

.

History

José Antonio Zeferino Carlón (also Cortés) (1792-) was a soldier and blacksmith. An illegitimate son, he used the surnames of his stepfathers, Hilario Carlón and Felipe Cortés. He was at Mission La Purísima Concepción

Mission La Purísima Concepción

Mission La Purisima Concepción, or La Purisima Mission, with the original Spanish name being La Misión de La Purísima Concepción de la Santísima Virgen María, was founded on the Feast Day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin on December 8, 1787...

 in 1820. He married first María Antonia Valenzuela in 1811. After she died, he married second María Dominga Cota in 1813. Their daughter María Manuela Carlón (1815-) married Francis Ziba Branch in 1835. Zeferino Carlon was granted Rancho Arroyo Grande in 1842. In 1850, Zeferino married third María Magdalena Valenzuela. Zeferino sold Rancho Arroyo Grande to his daughter and son-in-law, Francis Branch.

With the cession

Mexican Cession

The Mexican Cession of 1848 is a historical name in the United States for the region of the present day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S...

 of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...

 provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Arroyo Grande was filed with the Public Land Commission

Public Land Commission

The Public Land Commission, a former agency of the United States government, was created following the admission of California as a state in 1850 . The Commission's purpose was to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican land grants in California.California Senator William M...

 in 1852, and the grant was patented

Land patent

A land patent is a land grant made patent by the sovereign lord over the land in question. To make a such a grant “patent”, such a sovereign lord must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document and openly publish the same to the public for all to see...

to Francis Branch in 1867.