Rancho Potrero de San Carlos was a 4307 acres (17.4 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 Monterey County, California

Monterey County, California

Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...

 given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado  to Fructuoso del Real, an Indian. The land was part of the pasture ("potrero") of the secularized Mission San Carlos

Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo

Mission San Carlos Borroméo del río Carmelo, also known as the Carmel Mission, is a Roman Catholic mission church in Carmel, California. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and a U.S...

. The grant was located south of Monterey

Monterey, California

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

 on the south bank of the Carmel River

Carmel River

The Carmel River is a river on the Central Coast of California in Monterey County that originates in the Santa Lucia Mountains. The river flows northwest through the Carmel Valley with its mouth at the Pacific Ocean south of Carmel-by-the-Sea. It is often considered the northern boundary of Big Sur...

.

History

The one square league grant was given to Fructuoso del Real, an indian from the Mission San Carlos. When he died in 1845, he passed it on to his daughter, Estefana del Real, who married Joaquín Gutierrez, a soldier.

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 Potrero de San Carlos 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 Joaquín Gutierrez and Maria Estefana del Real in 1862.

In 1857 Bradley Sargent bought Rancho Potrero de San Carlos. Bradley Varnum Sargent (1828–1893), born in New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, came to California with his 3 brothers, Jacob L. Sargent (1818–1890), Roswell C. Sargent (1821–1903), and James P. Sargent (1823-1890) in 1849. In 1856 the Sargent brothers bought Rancho Juristac

Rancho Juristac

Rancho Juristac was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to Antonio and Faustino German. The rancho was once noted for its liquid petroleum deposits...

. B.V. Sargent moved to Monterey in 1858 and resided there until his death. Sargent also purchased Rancho San Francisquito

Rancho San Francisquito (Munras)

Rancho San Francisquito was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to Catalina Manzaneli de Munras...

, lying southeast of Rancho Potrero de San Carlos.