Rancho Petaluma
Encyclopedia
Rancho Petaluma was a 66622 acres (269.6 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Sonoma County, California
given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa
to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
. Rancho Petaluma stretched from Petaluma River
on the west over the hills and down to Sonoma Creek
on the east, including all land that lay between these two waterways from the edge of San Francisco Bay
to approximately the present site of Glen Ellen
. The rancho included the present day Petaluma
and Lakeville
.
, and to visit Fort Ross
and Bodega Bay
. On his way to Fort Ross, Vallejo crossed the fertile valley of Petaluma. Later, he built a small house and a corral, and in the spring he was ready to petition for a grant of land where he could place his livestock. The land grant was approved by Governor Figueroa in June of 1834. Governor Figueroa gave Vallejo vastly increased powers; his title was Military Commander and Director of Colonization of the Northern Frontier, and he was specifically requested to take charge of the mission
at Sonoma, reduce it to the status of a parish church, free the Indian workers, and distribute the mission lands and other assets among the population at large. The ten square league (approximately 44000 acres (178 km²)) grant was confirmed by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
and increased by five square leagues (approximately 22000 acres (89 km²)) in 1843. Although Vallejo's rancho was centered on Petaluma, he made his home in Sonoma
.
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 Petaluma was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1852, and the grant was patented
to Mariano G. Vallejo in 1874. James H. Watmough, purser on the USS Portsmouth, bought land from Vallejo in 1847. In 1853 Watmough was an unsuccessful claimant for a one square mile (640 acres (3 km²)) part of Rancho Petaluma.
As settlers made their way into Sonoma County in the mid 1850s, Vallejo subdivided and sold most of the rancho. In 1864, Vallejo sold the last remaining 1450 acres (6 km²) of the original Rancho Petuluma to San Francisco banker Alfred Borel.
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 Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa
José Figueroa
General José Figueroa , was a General and the Mexican territorial Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835.Figueroa oversaw the initial secularization of the missions of upper California, which included the expulsion of the Spanish Franciscan mission officials.This also involved the issuing of...
to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...
. Rancho Petaluma stretched from Petaluma River
Petaluma River
The Petaluma River is a river in the California counties of Sonoma and Marin that becomes a tidal slough near its mouth. It springs from farmlands southwest of Cotati and flows generally southward through Petaluma's old town and of tidal marshes to end in northwest San Pablo Bay.-History:The word...
on the west over the hills and down to Sonoma Creek
Sonoma Creek
Sonoma Creek is a stream in northern California. It is one of two principal drainages of southern Sonoma County, California, with headwaters rising in the rugged hills of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park and discharging to San Pablo Bay, the northern arm of San Francisco Bay. The watershed drained by...
on the east, including all land that lay between these two waterways from the edge of San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
to approximately the present site of Glen Ellen
Glen Ellen, California
Glen Ellen is a census-designated place in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA. The population was 784 at the 2010 census, down from 992 at the 2000 census. Glen Ellen is the location of Jack London State Historic Park , Sonoma Valley Regional Park, and a former home of Hunter S....
. The rancho included the present day Petaluma
Petaluma, California
Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, in the United States. In the 2010 Census the population was 57,941.Located in Petaluma is the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, a National Historic Landmark. It was built beginning in 1836 by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, then Commandant of the San...
and Lakeville
Lakeville, California
Lakeville is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located near the Petaluma River about southeast of Petaluma....
.
History
In 1833, Lieutenant Vallejo was ordered by Governor Figueroa to examine the country north of Mission San RafaelMission San Rafael Arcángel
Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded in 1817 as a medical asistencia of the Mission San Francisco de Asís as a hospital to treat sick Native Americans of the Bay Area, making it Alta California's first sanitarium. The weather was much better in the North Bay than in San Francisco, and helped...
, and to visit Fort Ross
Fort Ross, California
Fort Ross is a former Russian establishment on the Pacific Coast in what is now Sonoma County, California, in the United States. It was the hub of the southernmost Russian settlements in North America in between 1812 to 1841...
and Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay, California
Bodega Bay is a town and census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,077 at the 2010 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast....
. On his way to Fort Ross, Vallejo crossed the fertile valley of Petaluma. Later, he built a small house and a corral, and in the spring he was ready to petition for a grant of land where he could place his livestock. The land grant was approved by Governor Figueroa in June of 1834. Governor Figueroa gave Vallejo vastly increased powers; his title was Military Commander and Director of Colonization of the Northern Frontier, and he was specifically requested to take charge of the mission
Mission San Francisco Solano
Mission San Francisco Solano was founded on July 4, 1823, and named for Francis Solanus, a missionary to the Indians of Peru born in Montilla, Spain, known as the "Wonder Worker of the New World." Originally planned as an asistencia to Mission San Rafael Arcángel, it is the northernmost Alta...
at Sonoma, reduce it to the status of a parish church, free the Indian workers, and distribute the mission lands and other assets among the population at large. The ten square league (approximately 44000 acres (178 km²)) grant was confirmed by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
and increased by five square leagues (approximately 22000 acres (89 km²)) in 1843. Although Vallejo's rancho was centered on Petaluma, he made his home in Sonoma
Sonoma, California
Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...
.
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 Petaluma 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 Mariano G. Vallejo in 1874. James H. Watmough, purser on the USS Portsmouth, bought land from Vallejo in 1847. In 1853 Watmough was an unsuccessful claimant for a one square mile (640 acres (3 km²)) part of Rancho Petaluma.
As settlers made their way into Sonoma County in the mid 1850s, Vallejo subdivided and sold most of the rancho. In 1864, Vallejo sold the last remaining 1450 acres (6 km²) of the original Rancho Petuluma to San Francisco banker Alfred Borel.
Historic sites of the Rancho
- Rancho Petaluma AdobeRancho Petaluma AdobeRancho Petaluma Adobe is the name of a historic ranch house built from adobe bricks that was owned and constructed by General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, commandant of the Sonoma Pueblo from 1834 to 1857. It is the largest example of the Monterey Colonial style of architecture in the United States...
historic adobe ranch house owned and constructed by Vallejo. - Jack London State Historic ParkJack London State Historic ParkJack London State Historic Park, also known as Jack London Home and Ranch, is a California State Historic Park near Glen Ellen, California, United States, situated on the eastern slope of Sonoma Mountain...