Rancho Colus 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 Colusa County, California

Colusa County, California

Colusa County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, northwest of state capital Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, its population was 21,419. The county seat is Colusa.-History:...

 given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico

Pío Pico

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

 to John Bidwell

John Bidwell

John Bidwell was known throughout California and across the nation as an important pioneer, farmer, soldier, statesman, politician, prohibitionist and philanthropist...

. The name is derived from the name of a Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 tribe living on the west side of the Sacramento River

Sacramento River

The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...

. The grant extended two leagues along the west bank of the Sacramento River, and encompassed present day Colusa

Colusa, California

Colusa is the county seat of Colusa County, California. The population was 5,971 at the 2010 census, up from 5,402 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...

.

History

John Bidwell

John Bidwell

John Bidwell was known throughout California and across the nation as an important pioneer, farmer, soldier, statesman, politician, prohibitionist and philanthropist...

 (1819 – 1900) was born in Chautauqua County, New York

Chautauqua County, New York

-Major highways:* Interstate 86/New York State Route 17 * Interstate 90 * U.S. Route 20* U.S. Route 62* New York State Route 5* New York State Route 39* New York State Route 60* New York State Route 394...

, and led the Bartleson-Bidwell Party

Bartleson-Bidwell Party

In 1841, the Bartleson–Bidwell Party led by Captain John Bartleson and John Bidwell, became the first American emigrants to attempt a wagon crossing from Missouri to California.-The trail:...

 to California in 1841. 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...

 employed Bidwell as his business manager shortly after Bidwell's arrival in California. Bidwell obtained the two square league Mexican land grant in 1845.

Colonel Charles D. Semple arrived in California in 1849. Semple's brother, Dr. Robert B. Semple

Robert B. Semple

Doctor Robert Baylor Semple was a 19th-century Californian newspaperman & politician.A newspaperman in Kentucky, he came west over the California Trail with Lansford Hastings in 1845, before the gold rush. During the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt, he led the Americans around Sutter's Fort in the...

, was president of the 1849 California Constitutional Convention and co-owner of the adjacent Rancho Jimeno. Charles D. Semple bought Rancho Colus from Bidwell in 1850.

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 Colus 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, but was rejected as the Land Commission considered the grant boundaries were undefined. On appeal, the grant was confirmed by the District Court in 1855, and by the US Supreme Court, 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 Charles D. Semple in 1869.

However, the final survey of Rancho Jimeno

Rancho Jimeno

Rancho Jimeno was a Mexican land grant in present day Colusa County and Yolo County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Manuel Jimeno Casarin...

included the Rancho Colus grant, resulting in much litigation regarding owership of the land.