Rancho Cañada de San Miguelito was a 8877 acres (35.9 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 Ventura County, California

Ventura County, California

Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...

 given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico

Pío Pico

Pío de Jesús Pico was the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule.-Origins:...

 to Ramón Rodríguez. The name means valley of San Miguelito. The grant extended between the Pacific coast and the west bank of the Ventura River

Ventura River

The Ventura River is a river in Ventura County, California. The river forms at the confluence of Matilija Creek and North Fork Matilija Creek, upstream from the Pacific Ocean...

. On the east bank of the Ventura River was Rancho Cañada Larga o Verde

Rancho Cañada Larga o Verde

Rancho Cañada Larga o Verde was a Mexican land grant in present day Ventura County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Joaquina Alvarado. The grant extended along Sulphur Canyon Creek, east of the Ventura River, between Ventura and Ojai...

, and to the south was Rancho San Miguel

Rancho San Miguel (Olivas)

Rancho San Miguel was a Mexican land grant in present day Ventura County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado to Felipe Lorenzana and Raymundo Olivas...

 and present day Ventura

Ventura, California

Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...

.

History

The two square league Rancho Cañada de San Miguelito (which included Cañada del Diablo) was granted to Ramón Rodríguez. Rodríguez married Juana Tico. Rodríguez was killed in 1848 while part of a posse looking for bandits who had been terrorizing ranches in the region. A bandit was mortally wounded by Rodríguez, who was, in turn, killed by a bullet from that bandit's gun. The surviving bandits, Joseph Lynch, Peter Remer and Peter Quin were executed by firing squad, in Santa Barbara, on December 28, 1848.

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 San Miguelito 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 1853, 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 Juana Tico de Rodríguez heirs of Ramón Rodríguez in 1871.

Green B. Taylor (1819-), born in Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, married Nancy A. Donohoo in Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 in 1846. Taylor came to California by sea in 1852, and engaged in farming and stock-raising in northern and southern California. In 1870 he bought Rancho Cañada de San Miguelito and the property became known as the Taylor Ranch. Taylor ran sheep on the land until his death near the turn of the century. On the death in 1911 of Taylor's widow, Nancy Ann Donohoo Taylor, her will stipulated that her assets be sold and one-third of the proceeds be used to found a university in Ventura County. Taylor’s three surviving children successfully contested their mother’s will; and the property reverted to Edward Taylor, Charles Taylor and Alice Taylor Grubb. In 1931, oil was discovered on the ranch, commencing development of the San Miguelito Oil Field

San Miguelito Oil Field

The San Miguelito Oil Field is a large and currently productive oil field in the hills northwest of the city of Ventura in southern California in the United States. The field is close to the coastline, with U.S...

. This field became one of the most prolific oil fields in the region.