Rancho Los Medanos
Encyclopedia
Rancho Los Medanos was a 8859 acres (35.9 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Contra Costa County, California
given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose Antonio Mesa and Jose Miguel Garcia. The name "los medanos" is derived from the sand hills located along the San Joaquin River
on its northern boundary. Rancho Los Medanos was located at the junction of the San Joaquin River
and the Sacramento River
, extending eastward along the south shore of Suisun Bay
to Antioch. The rancho lands included present day Antioch
and Pittsburg
.
.
Mesa and Garcia sold the southern half of their rancho to Colonel Jonathan D. Stevenson
in 1849, and the northern half to James Walsh, Michael Murray, and Ellen Fallon in 1850. There was confusion about the orientation of the grant, and in 1851 Stevenson arranged an exchange of deeds, whereby he got the west half of the rancho, and Walsh, Murray, and Fallon got the east half.
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. A claim was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1853, and the grant was patented
to Jonathan D. Stevenson et al. in 1872. A claim for Rancho Los Medanos filed in 1853 by James Enright, Michael Murphy, and Ellen Fallon, was rejected.
Colonel Jonathan Drake Stevenson (1800–1894) was the commanding officer of the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers
, part of the American occupation army force that landed in California in 1847. Stevenson and others laid out a site for a town they called "New York of the Pacific", and Rancho Los Medanos is sometimes known as the "New York Ranch". The name of the settlement was changed to Pittsburg in 1911.
Stevenson sold the rancho to the San Francisco
banking firm of Louis Pioche, who in turn sold it in 1872 to L. L. Robinson. Lester Ludyah Robinson (1828–1892) was a California pioneer railroad builder, mining operator and land speculator. Robinson never married and at the urging of his sister Sophia Robinson Cutter, wrote a new will in 1891 in which he left the rancho to her. In 1900 the Bank of California, which held the mortgage on the ranch, foreclosed on the property. Charles Appleton Hooper purchased the ranch property in 1900.
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 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose Antonio Mesa and Jose Miguel Garcia. The name "los medanos" is derived from the sand hills located along the San Joaquin River
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
on its northern boundary. Rancho Los Medanos was located at the junction of the San Joaquin River
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
and 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...
, extending eastward along the south shore of Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...
to Antioch. The rancho lands included present day Antioch
Antioch, California
Antioch is a city in Contra Costa County, California. Located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area along the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, it is a suburb of San Francisco and Oakland. The city's population was 102,372 at the U.S...
and Pittsburg
Pittsburg, California
Pittsburg is a city located in eastern Contra Costa County, California, the outer portion of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 63,264 at the 2010 census....
.
History
The two league Rancho Los Medanos was granted in 1835 to Jose Antonio Mesa and Jose Miquel Garcia. Jose Antonio Mesa was the son of Corporal José Valerio Mesa who came to California with the Anza Expedition. Jose Antonio Mesa's son, Juan Prado Mesa, was the grantee of Rancho San AntonioRancho San Antonio (Mesa)
Rancho San Antonio was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Juan Prado Mesa...
.
Mesa and Garcia sold the southern half of their rancho to Colonel Jonathan D. Stevenson
Jonathan D. Stevenson
Jonathan Drake Stevenson was born in New York; won a seat in the New York State Assembly ; was the commanding officer of the First Regiment of New York Volunteers during the Mexican-American War in California; entered California mining and real estate businesses; and died in San Francisco on...
in 1849, and the northern half to James Walsh, Michael Murray, and Ellen Fallon in 1850. There was confusion about the orientation of the grant, and in 1851 Stevenson arranged an exchange of deeds, whereby he got the west half of the rancho, and Walsh, Murray, and Fallon got the east half.
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. A claim 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 Jonathan D. Stevenson et al. in 1872. A claim for Rancho Los Medanos filed in 1853 by James Enright, Michael Murphy, and Ellen Fallon, was rejected.
Colonel Jonathan Drake Stevenson (1800–1894) was the commanding officer of the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers
1st Regiment of New York Volunteers
1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, for service in California and during the war with Mexico, was raised in 1846 during the Mexican American War by Jonathan D. Stevenson. Accepted by the United States Army on August 1846 the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers was transported around Cape Horn to...
, part of the American occupation army force that landed in California in 1847. Stevenson and others laid out a site for a town they called "New York of the Pacific", and Rancho Los Medanos is sometimes known as the "New York Ranch". The name of the settlement was changed to Pittsburg in 1911.
Stevenson sold the rancho to the San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
banking firm of Louis Pioche, who in turn sold it in 1872 to L. L. Robinson. Lester Ludyah Robinson (1828–1892) was a California pioneer railroad builder, mining operator and land speculator. Robinson never married and at the urging of his sister Sophia Robinson Cutter, wrote a new will in 1891 in which he left the rancho to her. In 1900 the Bank of California, which held the mortgage on the ranch, foreclosed on the property. Charles Appleton Hooper purchased the ranch property in 1900.