Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito
Encyclopedia
Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito was a 8418 acres (34.1 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Santa Clara County, California
given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Peña. The name means "corner or bend of the San Francisquito" referring to San Francisquito Creek
. The grant extended along Matadero Creek
to the hills and included the southern part of present day Palo Alto
and the southern part of the Stanford University
campus.
, received permission from the Mission Santa Clara
in 1822 to occupy a square league of its pasture land. At some point, Peña went to Mexico, but returned in the 1830s to reoccupy his property. In 1841, he applied for the land he had been using and was granted two square leagues by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. At the time, Peña was teaching school in the small community at Santa Clara. In 1847, Peña sold the entire the rancho, except for a small plot for himself, to Secundino Robles and his brother Teodoro. When Peña died in 1852, his widow Gertrudis Lorenzana (d.1865) remained owner of the adobe and its property, which a 1862 map shows near Lake Lagunita
.
Secundino and his brother Teodoro Robles, bought Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito from José Peña in 1847. In 1824, Secundino Robles had discovered cinnabar
deposits south of San Jose
, when Ohlone Indians showed him where they retrieved their red-pigmented rock. By 1845, when these deposits proved to be rich in quicksilver
, Secundino and Teodoro received cash and a one sixth share in Andres Castillero 's New Almaden
Quicksilver Mine. Secundino Robles (1813–1890), born at Branciforte
, was not as wild as his brothers Nicolas, Avelino, Flugencio and Teodoro. He married Maria Antonia Garcia (d.1897) in 1835, and raised a large family (Maria Antonia bore 29 children). In 1843, Secundino was employed as the Majordomo (foreman) of Mission Santa Clara, where he was joined by his brother, Teodoro.
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 Rincon de San Francisquito was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1852, and the grant was patented
to Secundino and his brother Teodoro Robles in 1868.
In 1853, Elisha Oscar Crosby bought 250 acres (1 km²) from the Robles. Teodoro divorced his wife, Maria Rosalia Robles, in 1855, and lost half of his share of Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito in the divorce. Jeremiah Clarke of San Francisco purchased a portion of it from Maria Rosalia Robles in 1859. Frenchman Peter Coutts (Jean Baptiste Paulin Caperon) bought 1162 acres (4.7 km²) from Jeremiah Clarke. Coutts suddenly returned to France in 1880, and Leland Stanford
bought the property in 1882.
Secundino traded 500 acres (2 km²) of his rancho to Jeremiah Clarke for a span of horses and a buggy. By 1859 much of the Robles' land had been sold to meet the combined expenses of legal fees, Teodoro's gambling debts and Secundino's overly generous hospitality, as well as, the expense in raising so many children. Secundino died penniless in 1890.
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 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Peña. The name means "corner or bend of the San Francisquito" referring to San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States of America. Historically it was called the Arroyo de San Francisco by Juan Bautista de Anza in 1776...
. The grant extended along Matadero Creek
Matadero Creek
Matadero Creek is a stream originating in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek flows in a northeasterly direction for until it enters the Palo Alto Flood Basin, then the Mayfield Slough and then southwest San Francisco Bay...
to the hills and included the southern part of present day Palo Alto
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
and the southern part of the Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
campus.
History
José Peña (1777–1852), an artilleryman at the Presidio of San FranciscoPresidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
, received permission from the Mission Santa Clara
Mission Santa Clara de Asís
Mission Santa Clara de Asís was founded on January 12, 1777 and named for Santa Clara de Asis , the foundress of the order of the Poor Clares. Although ruined and rebuilt six times, the settlement was never abandoned.-History:...
in 1822 to occupy a square league of its pasture land. At some point, Peña went to Mexico, but returned in the 1830s to reoccupy his property. In 1841, he applied for the land he had been using and was granted two square leagues by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. At the time, Peña was teaching school in the small community at Santa Clara. In 1847, Peña sold the entire the rancho, except for a small plot for himself, to Secundino Robles and his brother Teodoro. When Peña died in 1852, his widow Gertrudis Lorenzana (d.1865) remained owner of the adobe and its property, which a 1862 map shows near Lake Lagunita
Lake Lagunita
Lake Lagunita is an artificial dry lake in Stanford University, California, located on the western side of the Stanford campus near the Lagunita residences.-Source:...
.
Secundino and his brother Teodoro Robles, bought Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito from José Peña in 1847. In 1824, Secundino Robles had discovered cinnabar
Cinnabar
Cinnabar or cinnabarite , is the common ore of mercury.-Word origin:The name comes from κινναβαρι , a Greek word most likely applied by Theophrastus to several distinct substances...
deposits south of San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, when Ohlone Indians showed him where they retrieved their red-pigmented rock. By 1845, when these deposits proved to be rich in quicksilver
Mercury (element)
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
, Secundino and Teodoro received cash and a one sixth share in Andres Castillero 's New Almaden
New Almaden
The New Almaden quicksilver mine in the Santa Teresa Hills in Santa Clara County, California, United States, is the oldest and most productive quicksilver mine in the U.S. The site was known to the Ohlone Indians for its cinnabar long before a Mexican settler discovered the ores in 1820...
Quicksilver Mine. Secundino Robles (1813–1890), born at Branciforte
Branciforte
Branciforte or as it was named originally, Villa de Branciforte, was a secular pueblo established by the Spanish in the of Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in 1797 on the eastern bluff overlooking the San Lorenzo River...
, was not as wild as his brothers Nicolas, Avelino, Flugencio and Teodoro. He married Maria Antonia Garcia (d.1897) in 1835, and raised a large family (Maria Antonia bore 29 children). In 1843, Secundino was employed as the Majordomo (foreman) of Mission Santa Clara, where he was joined by his brother, Teodoro.
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 Rincon de San Francisquito 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 Secundino and his brother Teodoro Robles in 1868.
In 1853, Elisha Oscar Crosby bought 250 acres (1 km²) from the Robles. Teodoro divorced his wife, Maria Rosalia Robles, in 1855, and lost half of his share of Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito in the divorce. Jeremiah Clarke of San Francisco purchased a portion of it from Maria Rosalia Robles in 1859. Frenchman Peter Coutts (Jean Baptiste Paulin Caperon) bought 1162 acres (4.7 km²) from Jeremiah Clarke. Coutts suddenly returned to France in 1880, and Leland Stanford
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
bought the property in 1882.
Secundino traded 500 acres (2 km²) of his rancho to Jeremiah Clarke for a span of horses and a buggy. By 1859 much of the Robles' land had been sold to meet the combined expenses of legal fees, Teodoro's gambling debts and Secundino's overly generous hospitality, as well as, the expense in raising so many children. Secundino died penniless in 1890.