Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi
Encyclopedia
Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi (also called "Cañada de Pogolome" and "Cañada de Pogolomi") was a 8781.81 acres (35.5 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Sonoma County, California
given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
to María Antonia Cazares, widow of James Dawson. The grant encompasses present day Bloomfield
.
in 1835, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
began construction of the Presidio of Sonoma
to counter the Russia
n presence at Fort Ross. To extend the settlements in the direction of Fort Ross, Vallejo sent three men, Edward McIntosh, James Black (1810–1870), and James Dawson, in that direction. These three men came to California as sailors with Captain John B.R. Cooper
, brother-in-law of General Vallejo. Black settled upon what is now known as Rancho Cañada de Jonive
, while Dawson and McIntosh settled upon Rancho Estero Americano
. They formed a partnership to build a saw-mill on Salmon Creek
, near the town of Freestone
. The Russian-American Company left Fort Ross and sold it to John Sutter
in 1841. The mill on Rancho Cañada de Jonive operated until 1849, when they sold all the lumber they had and left for the gold mines.
McIntosh and Dawson agreed to make application jointly to the Mexican government for the two square league grant known as the Rancho Estero Americano, to confirm the title given them by General Vallejo. McIntosh went the capital in Monterey
to get the necessary papers in 1839. However at that time, the Mexican authorities did not like making grants to multiple owners. When McIntosh returned, Dawson on examining the papers, found that they were made out only in the name of McIntosh. Tradition has it that when Dawson made this discovery, he sawed the house, in which McIntosh and Dawson had been living, in two parts, and removed his half to what would become Dawson's Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi grant. In June 1840, James Dawson married 14-year-old María Antonia Cazares (also spelled Caceres and Caseres), born the daughter of a Spanish
sergeant of dragoon
s in 1826. Dawson continued to reside on his rancho with his wife until his death in October 1843. The Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi grant was made to his widow,María Antonia Cazares (1826–1880) in February 1844.
María Antonia Cazares de Dawson married Frederick Gustavus Blume (1815–1890), a Sonoma, California
physician, surgeon and merchant, in November 1847. Blume was born in Bautzen
, Kingdom of Saxony
in 1815, and first traveled to California in late 1842. From Sonoma, Blume put his brother-in-law Henry Hagler in charge of his wife's rancho for the winter. The Blumes moved from Sonoma to live on the rancho in 1848, on a prominence overlooking the town of Freestone
. The town of Bloomfield
, located on the rancho, was named in honor of Blume. Though not an American citizen at the time, Blume was elected to the first Territorial Legislature which met in San Jose, California
in 1849. Blume was appointed postmaster of Freestone in 1870, and justice of the peace in 1873.
With the cession
of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1852, and the grant was patented
to María Antonia Cazares in 1858.
In the 1840s, María Antonia Caceres de Blume cared for her elderly mother and father, who had moved from San Francisco to be near her. Francisco Caceres died in Freestone in 1848 at the age of 76 and his wife Anastasia Boronda Caceres died the next year. María Antonia Caceres de Blume died childless at the age of 54 in 1880. Frederick Blume was forced by a settlers' league to sell much of his valuable estate at nominal prices; at his death in 1890 he owned little of the original 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 Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
to María Antonia Cazares, widow of James Dawson. The grant encompasses present day Bloomfield
Bloomfield, California
Bloomfield is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located in a rural area about southwest of Santa Rosa, California at the junction of Bloomfield Road and Valley Ford Road. Americano Creek flows westward along the south edge of the town.-History:Bloomfield is located...
.
History
At the direction of Governor José FigueroaJosé Figueroa
General José Figueroa , was a General and the Mexican territorial Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835.Figueroa oversaw the initial secularization of the missions of upper California, which included the expulsion of the Spanish Franciscan mission officials.This also involved the issuing of...
in 1835, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...
began construction of the Presidio of Sonoma
Presidio of Sonoma
El Presidio de Sonoma, or Sonoma Barracks, was a military outpost established in Alta California in 1836. It was built to house troops under General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, the Commandant of the Northern Frontier, as part of Mexico's strategy to subdue the Native Americans of the Sonoma Valley...
to counter the Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n presence at Fort Ross. To extend the settlements in the direction of Fort Ross, Vallejo sent three men, Edward McIntosh, James Black (1810–1870), and James Dawson, in that direction. These three men came to California as sailors with Captain John B.R. Cooper
John B.R. Cooper
John Bautista Rogers Cooper was born in England and raised in Massachusetts. He came to California as master of the ship Rover, and was a pre-gold rush pioneer of Monterey, California...
, brother-in-law of General Vallejo. Black settled upon what is now known as Rancho Cañada de Jonive
Rancho Cañada de Jonive
Rancho Cañada de Jonive was a Mexican land grant in present day Sonoma County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to James Black. The grant encompassed the town of Freestone.-History:...
, while Dawson and McIntosh settled upon Rancho Estero Americano
Rancho Estero Americano
Rancho Estero Americano was a Mexican land grant in present day Sonoma County, California given in 1839 by Governor Pro-tem Manuel Jimeno to Edward Manuel McIntosh...
. They formed a partnership to build a saw-mill on Salmon Creek
Salmon Creek (Sonoma County, California)
Salmon Creek is an stream in western Sonoma County, California that springs from coastal hills west of the town of Occidental and empties into the Pacific Ocean north of Bodega Head.-Course:...
, near the town of Freestone
Freestone, California
Freestone is a small, unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, USA located at the intersection of Bohemian Highway and Bodega Highway. It's west of Sebastopol along Salmon Creek on the U.S...
. The Russian-American Company left Fort Ross and sold it to John Sutter
John Sutter
Johann Augus Sutter was a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush by the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall and the mill making team at Sutter's Mill, and for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area that would eventually become Sacramento, the...
in 1841. The mill on Rancho Cañada de Jonive operated until 1849, when they sold all the lumber they had and left for the gold mines.
McIntosh and Dawson agreed to make application jointly to the Mexican government for the two square league grant known as the Rancho Estero Americano, to confirm the title given them by General Vallejo. McIntosh went the capital in Monterey
Monterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
to get the necessary papers in 1839. However at that time, the Mexican authorities did not like making grants to multiple owners. When McIntosh returned, Dawson on examining the papers, found that they were made out only in the name of McIntosh. Tradition has it that when Dawson made this discovery, he sawed the house, in which McIntosh and Dawson had been living, in two parts, and removed his half to what would become Dawson's Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi grant. In June 1840, James Dawson married 14-year-old María Antonia Cazares (also spelled Caceres and Caseres), born the daughter of a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
sergeant of dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
s in 1826. Dawson continued to reside on his rancho with his wife until his death in October 1843. The Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi grant was made to his widow,María Antonia Cazares (1826–1880) in February 1844.
María Antonia Cazares de Dawson married Frederick Gustavus Blume (1815–1890), a Sonoma, California
Sonoma, California
Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
physician, surgeon and merchant, in November 1847. Blume was born in Bautzen
Bautzen
Bautzen is a hill-top town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and administrative centre of the eponymous district. It is located on the Spree River. As of 2008, its population is 41,161...
, Kingdom of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
in 1815, and first traveled to California in late 1842. From Sonoma, Blume put his brother-in-law Henry Hagler in charge of his wife's rancho for the winter. The Blumes moved from Sonoma to live on the rancho in 1848, on a prominence overlooking the town of Freestone
Freestone, California
Freestone is a small, unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, USA located at the intersection of Bohemian Highway and Bodega Highway. It's west of Sebastopol along Salmon Creek on the U.S...
. The town of Bloomfield
Bloomfield, California
Bloomfield is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, U.S. It is located in a rural area about southwest of Santa Rosa, California at the junction of Bloomfield Road and Valley Ford Road. Americano Creek flows westward along the south edge of the town.-History:Bloomfield is located...
, located on the rancho, was named in honor of Blume. Though not an American citizen at the time, Blume was elected to the first Territorial Legislature which met in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
in 1849. Blume was appointed postmaster of Freestone in 1870, and justice of the peace in 1873.
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 Cañada de Pogolimi 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 María Antonia Cazares in 1858.
In the 1840s, María Antonia Caceres de Blume cared for her elderly mother and father, who had moved from San Francisco to be near her. Francisco Caceres died in Freestone in 1848 at the age of 76 and his wife Anastasia Boronda Caceres died the next year. María Antonia Caceres de Blume died childless at the age of 54 in 1880. Frederick Blume was forced by a settlers' league to sell much of his valuable estate at nominal prices; at his death in 1890 he owned little of the original grant.