Rancho Los Huecos was a 39951 acres (161.7 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 Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...

 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 Luis Arenas and John A. Rowland

John A. Rowland

John A. Rowland was an early settler and rancher of the eastern San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California. He and his family were very prominent in the region's early development and the unincorporated community of Rowland Heights, California is named for him.-Early life:John...

. The grant extended along the San Felipe Valley between present day Gilroy

Gilroy, California

Gilroy is the southernmost city in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population was 48,821 at the 2010 census. Gilroy is well-known for its garlic crop and for the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, featuring various garlicky foods, including garlic ice cream. Gilroy also produces...

 and Hollister

Hollister, California

Hollister is a city in and the county seat of San Benito County, California, United States. The population was 34,928 at the 2010 census. Hollister is primarily an agricultural town.-History:...

 at the foot of the Diablo Range

Diablo Range

The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges. It is located in the eastern San Francisco Bay area south to the Salinas Valley area of northern California, the United States.-Geography:...

.

History

Luis Arenas came to California in 1834, and was the grantee of Rancho El Susa

Rancho Azusa de Dalton

Rancho Azusa de Dalton was a Mexican land grant in present day Los Angeles County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Luis Arenas. Arenas sold his holdings three years later to Henry Dalton , a wealthy merchant from Los Angeles. Dalton named his holding Rancho Azusa de Dalton...

 in 1841. Luis Arenas son, Cayetano Arenas, was secretary to Governor Pio Pico. J. L. Hornsby acquired Arenas interest in the grant. Rowland, usually referred to as "John Roland" in the land grant records, was a grantee of Rancho La Puente

Rancho La Puente

Rancho La Puente was a ranch in the eastern San Gabriel Valley that, in its fullest extent, measured just under , and remained intact until about 1870. By modern landmarks, the ranch extended from San Gabriel River on the west to just west of the 57 Freeway on the east and from Ramona...

.

The grant was a nine square league sobrante (surplus land remaining) from Rancho Cañada de San Felipe y Las Animas

Rancho Cañada de San Felipe y Las Animas

Rancho Cañada de San Felipe y Las Animas was a Mexican land grant present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1839 by Governor Protem Manuel Jimeno to Thomas Bowen. The grant extended along San Felipe Creek and Las Animas Creek in the Diablo Range, north east of Morgan Hill...

 made in 1839, and Rancho Cañada de Pala

Rancho Cañada de Pala

Rancho Cañada de Pala was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José de Jesús Bernal. The origin of the name Cañada de Pala is the subject of debate. The word "pala" translates as "shovel" in Spanish, but means "water",...

 made in 1839. When Rowland and Arenas petitioned for the grant, they did not provide a map of the land solicited, but offered to furnish a map to the governor at a convenient time—that is, whenever there might be occasion for its use. No map was ever produced.

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 was Rancho Los Huecos 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 rejected by the Commission in 1854, on the grounds that original grant documents did not include a map. On appeal to the US Supreme Court, 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 John Rowland and J. L. Hornsby in 1876.