Rancho Santa Ana was a 21522 acres (87.1 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 Ventura County, California

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...

 given in 1837 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Crisogono Ayala and Cosme Vanegas. Rancho Santa Ana was located inland in the Ventura River Valley on the west side of the Ventura River

Ventura River

The Ventura River is a river in Ventura County, California. The river forms at the confluence of Matilija Creek and North Fork Matilija Creek, upstream from the Pacific Ocean...

 across from Rancho Ojai

Rancho Ojai

Rancho Ojai was a Mexican land grant in present day Ventura County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Fernando Tico. Rancho Ojai is located on the east side of the upper Ventura River across from the Rancho Santa Ana grant made in the same year. The grant encompassed present...

  which was granted in the same year. Rancho Santa Ana encompassed present day Lake Casitas

Lake Casitas

Lake Casitas is an artificial lake in the Los Padres National Forest of Ventura County, California, created by the construction of Casitas Dam on Coyote Creek, two miles before it joins the Ventura River. Santa Ana Creek and North Fork Coyote Creek also flow into the lake. The dam was constructed...

 and Oak View

Oak View, California

Oak View is a census-designated place in Ventura County, California, United States located in the western portion of the Ojai Valley situated between the towns of Casitas Springs and Mira Monte . At the 2010 census, the population of Oak View was 4,066, down from 4,199 at the 2000 census, making...

.

History

The four square league Rancho Santa Ana was granted to Crisógono Ayala and his father-in-law Cosme Vanegas was part of the lands of Mission San Buenaventura

Mission San Buenaventura

Mission San Buenaventura was founded on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1782 in Las Californias, part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of New Spain. Named for a Franciscan theologian, Saint Bonaventure, it was the last of the missions founded by Father Serra...

. Cosme Damien Vanegas (1780-), was the son of Los Angeles Pobladores

Los Angeles Pobladores

The Pobladores of Los Angeles refers to the 44 original settlers and 4 soldiers who founded city of Los Angeles, California in 1781....

 Jose Maria Vanegas (1753-) and Maria Bonifacia Maxima Aguilar(-1801). Jose Maria Vanegas was alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles from about 1786 to 1788 and again in 1796. Jose Crisógono Dolores Ayala (1793 - 1866) married Bárbara Bernidina Vanegas (1800-).

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 Santa Ana 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 Crisogono Ayala and Cosme Vanegas in 1870.

José de Arnaz (1820–1895), grantee of Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura

Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura

Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura was a Mexican land grant in present day Ventura County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico to José de Arnaz...

, bought a one sixth share of Rancho Santa Ana in 1854. In 1874, Arnaz sold the land to sea captain Richard Robinson, Judge Eugene Fawcett, Jr., and H.C. Dean, who subdivided the land and started the development of the Santa Ana Valley.

Historic sites of the Rancho

• Santa Ana Rancho Adobe. Adobe house, two story, built in the late 1850s by José de Arnaz.