Rancho Zanjones was a 6714 acres (27.2 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 1839 by Governor protem Manuel Jimeno to Gabriel de la Torre. The grant extended along the north 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...

 east of present day Chualar

Chualar, California

Chualar is a census-designated place in Monterey County, California, United States. Chualar is located southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 115 feet...

.

History

Gabriel de la Torre, the Mexican government's chief administrator of 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...

, was granted the one and one half square league Rancho Zanjones in 1839. Juan Malarin acquired Rancho Zanjones.

Juan Malarin (1792–1849), a sea captain from Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

, came to California in 1822, and was made a Lieutenant in the Mexican Navy. He made Monterey his home, and in 1824 he married Maria Josefa Joaquina Estrada, a daughter 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:...

. Malarin was grantee of the two square league Rancho Guadalupe y Llanitos de los Correos

Rancho Guadalupe y Llanitos de los Correos

Rancho Guadalupe y Llanitos de los Correos was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa to Juan Malarin. The grant extended along the south bank of the Salinas River south of Chualar.-History:...

 in 1833, and the two square league Rancho Chualar

Rancho Chualar

Rancho Chualar was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1839 by Governor protem Manuel Jimeno to Juan Malarin. The grant extended along the north bank of the Salinas River, and encompassed present day Chualar.-History:...

 in 1839. When Malarin died in 1849, his son, Mariano Malarin, took charge of the family estate. In 1859, Mariano Malarin (1827–1895) married Ysidora Pacheco (-1892), a daughter of Francisco Pacheco, owner of Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe

Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe

Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe was a Mexican land grant in present day San Benito County and Santa Clara County, California a consists of two square leagues given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa and two square leagues given in 1836 by Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez to Francisco Perez Pacheco...

.

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 Zanjones 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 Mariano Malarin in 1866.