Rancho Salsipuedes was a 31201 acres (126.3 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 Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County, California

Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...

. Two leagues were granted 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 Francisco de Haro

Francisco de Haro

Francisco de Haro was the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena in 1834.-Life:De Haro was born in Compostela, Nayarit, Mexico and came to San Francisco in 1819. He was the first Alcalde of Yerba Buena in 1834. He was instrumental in planning the street grid of the town along with Englishman William A....

. Eight leagues were granted in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Manuel Casarin. The name means "leave if you can" in Spanish. Salsipuedes encommpasses the mountainous area west of 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...

, straddling the Santa Clara County

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...

  - Santa Cruz County line (only about 5400 acres (21.9 km²) are in Santa Clara County).

History

Two leagues were granted to Francisco de Haro (1792–1849) the first Alcalde

Alcalde

Alcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An alcalde was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian cabildo and judge of first instance of a town...

 (Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

) of Yerba Buena

Yerba Buena (town)

Yerba Buena was the original name of San Francisco when in the Spanish Las Californias Province of New Spain, and then after 1822 in the Mexican territory of Alta California, until the Mexican American War ended with the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, when California became a territory of the...

 in 1834. The rancho was regranted in 1840 to Manual Jimeno Casarin who served as secretary of state under Governor Alvarado and Governor 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...

, was a senior member of the Assembly, and occasionally acting governor. Casarin was married to María de las Angustias the daughter of José de la Guerra y Noriega

José de la Guerra y Noriega

José Antonio de la Guerra y Noriega was a soldier and early settler of California.-Biography:José de la Guerra was born 1779 at Novales, Cantabria, Spain. As a boy he wished to be a friar...

. Casarin, who lived in 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...

, also owned Rancho Santa Paula y Saticoy

Rancho Santa Paula y Saticoy

Rancho Santa Paula y Saticoy was a Mexican land grant in the Santa Clara River Valley, in present day Ventura County, California, and granted in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Manuel Jimeno Casarin. The rancho lands include the present day cities of Saticoy and Santa Paula along the...

 in Ventura County

Ventura County, California

Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...

 and Rancho Jimeno

Rancho Jimeno

Rancho Jimeno was a Mexican land grant in present day Colusa County and Yolo County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Manuel Jimeno Casarin...

 in Yolo County

Yolo County, California

Yolo County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, bordered by the other counties of Sacramento, Solano, Napa, Lake, Colusa, and Sutter. The city of Woodland is its county seat, though Davis is its largest city....

. Casarin died in 1853 during a visit to Mexico.

James Bryant Hill leased 1000 acres (4 km²) from Jimeno in 1851. In 1852 William Francis White, with E. Kelley, E. Casserly, J. R. McGlynn, W. W. Stowe, William Davidson and James Blair purchased the rancho, subject to the lease of Hill. James Bryant Hill later bought Rancho Nacional

Rancho Nacional

Rancho Nacional was a Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present day Monterey County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Vicente Cantua...

.

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 Salsipuedes 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 John P. Davison, Stephen W. Tibbets, Joseph B. Crockett, Edward D. Baker, and heirs of James Blair (Mary J. Blair, widow, and Violet Blair, Jessup Blair and Lucy Blair, children) in 1861.

Subsequently the land was divided and W. F. White became owner of 3000 acres (12.1 km²). W. F. White was the only resident land owner on the Salsipuedes, but was not successful in his farming operations, and retired to 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...

.