Rancho San Bernardo was a 4379 acres (17.7 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 San Luis Obispo County, California

San Luis Obispo County, California

San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...

 given in 1840 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Vicente Canet. The grant extended along Little Morro Creek and San Bernardo Creek east of Morro Bay

Morro Bay, California

Morro Bay is a waterfront city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,234, down from 10,350 at the 2000 census.- History :...

.

History

Vicente (Cane) Canet (1790–1858) came to 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...

 in 1825. In 1828 he married Rosa Maria Josefa Butrón (1812–1890), daughter of Manuel José Butrón and María Ignacia Rita Higuera of Rancho La Natividad

Rancho La Natividad

Rancho La Natividad was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Manuel Butrón and his son-in-law, Nicolás Alviso. Rancho La Natividad and Rancho Los Vergeles were adjoining ranchos along Gabilan Creek north of present day...

. Canet was at the Presidio of Monterey

Presidio of Monterey, California

The Presidio of Monterey, located in Monterey, California, is an active US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently it is the home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center .-Spanish fort:...

 for twelve years, and in 1840 was administrator of Mission San Luis Obispo. In 1840 he was granted the one square league Rancho San Bernardo.

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 San Bernardo 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 Vicente Canet in 1865.

After the death of Vicente Canet in 1858, Rosa Maria Josefa Butrón married John Simmler in 1859. John Jacob Simmler, who came to California in 1853, opened the first hotel at San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo, California

San Luis Obispo is a city in California, located roughly midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on the Central Coast. Founded in 1772 by Spanish Fr. Junipero Serra, San Luis Obispo is one of California’s oldest communities...

. In 1874, the Canet family sold Rancho San Bernardo to Francisco Estevan Quintana (1809–1880). Quintana, who came from New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

 to San Luis Obispo in 1844, served as 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...

 of San Luis Obispo in 1845 and 1849. He purchased Rancho Potrero de San Luis Obispo

Rancho Potrero de San Luis Obispo

Rancho Potrero de San Luis Obispo was a Mexican land grant in present day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1842 by Governor Rancho Potrero de San Luis Obispo was a [[Ranchos of California|Mexican land grant]] in present day [[San Luis Obispo County, California]] given in 1842 by...

from Maria Concepcion "Chona" Boronda in 1854. Estevan's eldest son, Pedro de Jesus, inherited Rancho San Bernardo in 1880.