Rancho Chimiles was a 17762 acres (71.9 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 Napa County, California

Napa County, California

Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....

 given in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico

Pío Pico

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

 to José Ygnacio Berreyesa.

History

José Ygnacio Marianio Berreyesa the son of José de los Reyes Berreyesa

José de los Reyes Berreyesa

José de los Reyes Berrelleza was born at Mission Santa Clara de Asís in Las Californias on January 6, 1785, the third child and first son in the family of María Gertrudis Peralta and Nicholas Antonio Berrelleza. He served as an army sergeant at El Presidio Real de San Francisco. In 1805, he...

 (1785–1846) was granted four square leagues in 1846. William Gordon, grantee of Rancho Quesesoni

Rancho Quesesoni

Rancho Quesesoni was a Mexican land grant in present day Yolo County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to William Gordon. The grant, west of Woodland, extended 2 leagues along both sides of Rio de Jesús María, now known as Cache Creek...

, and Nathan Coombs

Nathan Coombs

Nathan Coombs was a California pioneer and founder of the city of Napa, California.-Life:Nathan Coombs lived in Massachusetts and came overland to Oregon in 1842. Coombs came to California in 1843, first working for Steven Smith in Bodega Bay; and then for William Gordon at Rancho Quesesoni in...

 purchased Rancho Chimiles in 1851.

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 Chimiles 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 William Gordan and Nathan Coombs in 1860.