Rancho El Sobrante
Encyclopedia
Rancho El Sobrante was a 20565 acres (83.2 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Contra Costa County, California
given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Juan Jose Castro and Victor Castro
. The name means "left over " in Spanish—the grant's boundaries were determined by the boundaries of the surrounding grants: San Antonio, San Pablo
, El Pinole
, La Boca de la Cañada del Pinole
, Acalanes
, and La Laguna de los Palos Colorados
. This grant included the area between present day El Sobrante
and Orinda
.
(1775–1831) and María Gabriela Berreyesa
(1780–1851). Francisco Castro had been a soldier at San Francisco, who after serving as alcalde and in other public offices, was granted Rancho San Pablo
in 1823. Juan Castro and Victor Castro served in the San Francisco militia.
Juan Alvarado, married María Martina Castro (1814–1875) in 1839, and was thus brother-in-law to Juan Jose Castro and Victor Castro. Juan Castro was grantee of Yerba Buena Island
in 1838, and Victor Castro was grantee of Mare Island
in 1841. But neither brother settled permanently, and both grants were rejected by the Public Land Commission. Juan Castro and Victor Castro then identified an area of land which was not described in any land grants of the time, and applied for a grant for Rancho El Sobrante.
Victor Castro built a two-story adobe dwelling in what is now El Cerrito
, and became one of the first members of the Board of Supervisors
of Contra Costa County
in 1852.
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 El Sobrante was filed with the Public Land Commission
by Juan José Castro and Victor Castro in 1852. The sobrante grant presented a complicated case of land ownership when it came into the U.S. courts. The area was entirely surrounded by other grants and its boundaries determined by the boundaries of the surrounding grants. After legal conflicts lasting more than three decades, a grant of over 20000 acres (81 km²) was patented
to Juan José Castro and Victor Castro in 1883.
A square league of 3872 acres (15.7 km²) was sold in 1847 to Ward and Smith, a San Francisco merchant business. A square league of 4098 acres (16.6 km²) was sold in 1860 by Victor Castro to Eugene Kelly and G.H. Woodruff, San Francisco bankers. By 1893, a survey map shows Victor Castro (Juan Jose had died) as the owner of just 549 acres (2.2 km²). Thousands of acres had gone to pay attorneys' fees in long struggles in the courts, against both more or less legitimate claimants and plagues of squatters who tried to profit from the Castros' troubles. More lawsuits were filed until 1909, when the final partition decree settled legal ownership of the land within Rancho El Sobrante.
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 Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Juan Jose Castro and Victor Castro
Víctor Castro
Víctor Ramón Castro was a landowner in an area of Alta California which later became part of Contra Costa County, California.Víctor Castro was the son of Francisco María Castro, a former soldier at the San Francisco Presidio, one-time alcalde of the Pueblo of San José, and grantee of Rancho San...
. The name means "left over " in Spanish—the grant's boundaries were determined by the boundaries of the surrounding grants: San Antonio, San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo was a land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1823 by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello to Francisco María Castro , a former soldier at the San Francisco Presidio and one-time alcalde of the Pueblo of San José. The grant was reconfirmed by Governor José...
, El Pinole
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...
, La Boca de la Cañada del Pinole
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...
, Acalanes
Rancho Acalanes
Rancho Acalanes was a Mexican land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Candelario Valencia. The name Acalanes seems to have come from the name of a Costanoan native village in the area, Ahala-n. The rancho included present day...
, and La Laguna de los Palos Colorados
Rancho Laguna de los Palos Colorados
Rancho Laguna de Los Palos Colorados was a Mexican land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Joaquin Moraga and his cousin, Juan Bernal. The name means "Ranch of the Lake of the Redwoods" in Spanish...
. This grant included the area between present day El Sobrante
El Sobrante, California
El Sobrante is a census-designated place in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 12,669 at the 2010 census...
and Orinda
Orinda, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Orinda had a population of 17,643. The population density was 1,389.5 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Orinda was 14,533 White, 149 African American, 22 Native American, 2,016 Asian, 24 Pacific Islander, 122 from other races, and...
.
History
Brothers Juan Jose Castro (1803–1869) and Victor Ramon Castro (1817–1897) were among the eleven children of Francisco María CastroFrancisco María Castro
Francisco María Castro was a landowner in an area of Alta California which later became part of Contra Costa County, California.Francisco María Castro was the third son of Joaquin Ysidro de Castro, one of the founding settlers of the Pueblo of San José and Maria Marina Botiller...
(1775–1831) and María Gabriela Berreyesa
María Gabriela Berreyesa Castro
María Gabriela Berrelleza was born November 26, 1780, and christened the same day at Mission Santa Clara de Asís in upper Las Californias, near present day San José . She was the first child of the family of María Gertrudis Peralta and Nicholas Antonio Berrelleza...
(1780–1851). Francisco Castro had been a soldier at San Francisco, who after serving as alcalde and in other public offices, was granted Rancho San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo
Rancho San Pablo was a land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1823 by Governor Luís Antonio Argüello to Francisco María Castro , a former soldier at the San Francisco Presidio and one-time alcalde of the Pueblo of San José. The grant was reconfirmed by Governor José...
in 1823. Juan Castro and Victor Castro served in the San Francisco militia.
Juan Alvarado, married María Martina Castro (1814–1875) in 1839, and was thus brother-in-law to Juan Jose Castro and Victor Castro. Juan Castro was grantee of Yerba Buena Island
Yerba Buena Island
Yerba Buena Island sits in the San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and Oakland, California. The Yerba Buena Tunnel runs through its center and connects the western and eastern spans of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. It has had several other names over the decades: Sea Bird Island, Wood...
in 1838, and Victor Castro was grantee of Mare Island
Mare Island
Mare Island is a peninsula in the United States alongside the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the east side of San Pablo Bay. Mare Island is considered a peninsula because no full...
in 1841. But neither brother settled permanently, and both grants were rejected by the Public Land Commission. Juan Castro and Victor Castro then identified an area of land which was not described in any land grants of the time, and applied for a grant for Rancho El Sobrante.
Victor Castro built a two-story adobe dwelling in what is now El Cerrito
El Cerrito, California
-Transportation:The city's primary transportation infrastructure consists of the El Cerrito Plaza and El Cerrito del Norte BART stations along with several local bus lines, operated by AC Transit, providing access to the surrounding area and the nearby cities of Albany, Berkeley and Richmond...
, and became one of the first members of the Board of Supervisors
County board of supervisors
The Board of Supervisors is the body that supervises the operation of county government in all counties in Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Sussex County, New Jersey as well as a handful of counties in New York...
of Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County, California
Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...
in 1852.
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 El Sobrante 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...
by Juan José Castro and Victor Castro in 1852. The sobrante grant presented a complicated case of land ownership when it came into the U.S. courts. The area was entirely surrounded by other grants and its boundaries determined by the boundaries of the surrounding grants. After legal conflicts lasting more than three decades, a grant of over 20000 acres (81 km²) 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 Juan José Castro and Victor Castro in 1883.
A square league of 3872 acres (15.7 km²) was sold in 1847 to Ward and Smith, a San Francisco merchant business. A square league of 4098 acres (16.6 km²) was sold in 1860 by Victor Castro to Eugene Kelly and G.H. Woodruff, San Francisco bankers. By 1893, a survey map shows Victor Castro (Juan Jose had died) as the owner of just 549 acres (2.2 km²). Thousands of acres had gone to pay attorneys' fees in long struggles in the courts, against both more or less legitimate claimants and plagues of squatters who tried to profit from the Castros' troubles. More lawsuits were filed until 1909, when the final partition decree settled legal ownership of the land within Rancho El Sobrante.