Rancho San Simeon was a 4469 acres (18.1 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 given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Ramón Estrada. The grant extended along the Pacific Coast from Rancho Piedra Blanca

Rancho Piedra Blanca

Rancho Piedra Blanca was a Mexican land grant in present day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José de Jesús Pico. The name means "white rock" and refers to rocks painted white by its bird population...

 south to San Simeon Creek.

History

José Ramón Estrada (1811-1845), son of José Mariano Estrada, grantee of 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:...

, was born 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...

. Ramón Estrada was administrator of 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 1835 and grantee of Rancho El Toro

Rancho El Toro

Rancho El Toro was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to José Ramón Estrada. The grant extended along Toro Creek south of Hill Town on the Salinas River.-History:...

 in 1835. He married Maria Gregoria Castro. He was 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...

 at Monterey in 1836 and prefect of the first district at Monterey 1841-1843. His brother Julian Estrada was granted Rancho Santa Rosa

Rancho Santa Rosa (Estrada)

Rancho Santa Rosa was a Mexican land grant in present day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Julian Estrada...

. Originally part of the Mission San Miguel

Mission San Miguel Arcángel

Mission San Miguel Arcángel was founded on July 25, 1797 by the Franciscan order, on a site chosen specifically due to the large number of Salinan Indians that inhabited the area, whom the Spanish priests wanted to evangelize. It is located at 775 Mission Street, San Miguel, in San Luis Obispo...

 coastal grazing land, the one square league Rancho San Simeon was granted to Estrada in 1842.

Shortly before his death in 1845, Estrada sold Rancho San Simeon to José Miguel Gomez, a Mexican priest.

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 Simeon 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 José Miguel Gomez in 1865.

In 1865 George Hearst

George Hearst

George Hearst was a wealthy American businessman and United States Senator, and the father of newspaperman William Randolph Hearst.-Early life and education:...

 (1820 – 1891), a successful miner during the California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

 era and later a US Senator, started to acquired land in the area. His first step was to buy most of Rancho Piedra Blanca

Rancho Piedra Blanca

Rancho Piedra Blanca was a Mexican land grant in present day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José de Jesús Pico. The name means "white rock" and refers to rocks painted white by its bird population...

 and part of Rancho Santa Rosa

Rancho Santa Rosa (Estrada)

Rancho Santa Rosa was a Mexican land grant in present day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Julian Estrada...

. In 1867, Hearst bought Rancho San Simeon.