Rancho Valle de San José (also called "Valle de San José y Corralitos") was a 48436 acres (196 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 Alameda County, California

Alameda County, California

Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...

 given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado  to Antonio Maria Pico, Agustín Bernal (1797–1872), Juan Pablo Bernal (1810–1878), and María Dolores Bernal de Suñol. The grant encompassed present day Sunol

Sunol, California

Sunol is an unincorporated census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 913 at the 2010 census....

 and Pleasanton

Pleasanton, California

Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in...

.

History

The eleven square league grant was given to four children of José Joaquín Bernal (1762–1837) and Maria Josefa Daria Sanchez (1760–1858). José Joaquín Bernal, a member of the 1776 De Anza Expedition, was a soldier at the Presidio of San Francisco

Presidio of San Francisco

The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...

 and the Pueblo of San José, and grantee of Rancho Santa Teresa

Rancho Santa Teresa

Rancho Santa Teresa was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to José Joaquín Bernal...

.

Antonio Maria Pico (1809–1869), son of José Dolores Pico, was the grantee of Rancho Pescadero

Rancho Pescadero (Pico)

Rancho Pescadero was a Mexican land grant in present day San Joaquin County, California and Alameda County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Antonio Maria Pico. Pescadero means "the fishery" or "the place to fish" in Spanish...

 and married Maria del Pilar Bernal (1812–1882) in 1831. Pico sold his one fourth share of Rancho El Valle de San José to Juan Pablo Bernal.

The Bernals only moved to the rancho after the 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...

 to protect their interests from squatters. Agustín Bernal moved to his portion of the Rancho and built an adobe in 1850.

María Dolores Bernal married Antonio Marie Suñol (1796–1865), born in Spain, a seaman on a French merchant ship and arrived in the Pueblo of San José in 1818. He held several public offices including Postmaster (1826–1829), and Alcalde (mayor) in 1841. In 1847 he bought Rancho Los Coches

Rancho Los Coches (Sunol)

Rancho Los Coches was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Roberto Balemino, an indian. The name means Ranch of the Pigs...

 from a mission Indian grantee. Sunol, California is named for him. Suñol lived in San José, and his son, (also with the name Antonio Maria Suñol), moved to the rancho in the 1840s. There he built an adobe just west of the present Sunol Water Temple

Sunol Water Temple

The Sunol Water Temple is located at 505 Paloma Way in Sunol, California. Designed by Willis Polk, the 59 foot high classical pavilion is made up of twelve concrete Corinthian columns and a concrete ring girder that supports the conical wood and tile roof...

. Suñol lived there until his death at the hands of a squatter in 1855.

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 Valle de San José 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 Antonio Suñol in 1865.

John W. Kottinger (1820–1892), an immigrant from Austria, arrived in California in 1849. He married Refugia Maria Agosta Bernal, the daughter of Juan Pablo Bernal, and they were given 4500 acres (18 km²) from Rancho Valle de San José. Kottinger is one of the founders of Pleasanton, California.

By 1874, the Spring Valley Water Company had bought most of the land and water rights.

Historic sites of the Rancho

• Kottinger Adobe Barn. John Kottinger’s 1852 adobe barn is the oldest building in downtown Pleasanton.