Rancho San Bernardo was a 13346 acres (54 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 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado  to Mariano de Jesus Soberanes and Juan Soberanes. The grant extended along the west bank of the Salinas River

Salinas River (California)

The Salinas River is the largest river of the central coast of California, running and draining 4,160 square miles. It flows north-northwest and drains the Salinas Valley that slices through the Coast Range south from Monterey Bay...

. The grant encompassed present day San Ardo

San Ardo, California

San Ardo is a census-designated place in Monterey County, California, United States. San Ardo is located southeast of King City, at an elevation of 449 feet...

.

History

The Soberanes family partiarch, José Maria Soberanes (1753-1803) accompanied the Portola expedition

Portola expedition

250px|right|Point of San Francisco Bay DiscoveryThe Portolá Expedition was led by Gaspar de Portolá from July 14, 1769 to January 24, 1770. It was the first recorded Spanish land entry and exploration of present day California, United States...

 to San Francisco Bay in 1769. Soberanes married Maria Josefa Castro (1759-1822) and received Rancho Buena Vista

Rancho Buena Vista (Soberanes)

Rancho Buena Vista was a Spanish land concession in the Salinas Valley, in present day Monterey County, California given in 1795 to Jose Maria Soberanes and Joaquin Castro. The grant was just south of Spreckels.-History:...

. His sons Feliciano Soberanes (1788-1868) and Mariano Soberanes (1794-1859) were granted Rancho El Alisal

Rancho El Alisal

Rancho El Alisal was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa to brothers Feliciano and Mariano Soberanes and to William Edward Petty Hartnell. Alisal means Alder tree in spanish...

 in 1833.

Mariano de Jesus Soberanes was a soldier and also held the office of 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...

 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...

. Mariano Soberanes married María Isidora Vallejo (1791-1830) sister of General 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...

. Their daughter, Maria Ygnacia Soberanes, married Dr. Edward Turner Bale

Edward Turner Bale

Edward Turner Bale was an English immigrant physician who built the Bale Grist Mill in Napa County, California.-Life:...

 grantee of Rancho Carne Humana

Rancho Carne Humana

Rancho Carne Humana was a Mexican land grant in present day Napa County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Edward Turner Bale. The name means "human flesh" in Spanish. There is speculation as to why the name was chosen. The grant was originally called "Huilic Noma" and also...

. Mariano de Jesus Soberanes was granted the three square league Rancho San Bernardo in 1842.

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 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 Mariano Soberanes in 1874.

In 1855, Francisco Rico, grantee of nearby Rancho San Lorenzo

Rancho San Lorenzo (Randall)

Rancho San Lorenzo was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Francisco Rico. The grant extended along San Lorenzo Creek in Peach Tree Valley.-History:...

, bought all of Rancho San Bernardo.

Meyer Brandenstein (-1906) and a partner, Lazard Godchaux, bought two thirds ( 8901 acres (36 km²)) of Rancho San Bernardo in 1871. Alberto Trescony of the adjacent Rancho San Lucas

Rancho San Lucas

Rancho San Lucas was a Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Rafael Estrada...

owned the other third (4445 acres (18 km²)). Brandenstein and Godchaux organized the San Bernardo and Salinas Valley Canal and Irrigation Company, a large scale irrigation project in Southern Monterey County, in 1884.