Rancho Buena Vista was a Spanish land concession in the

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River (Califo ...

, in present day

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

given in 1795 to Jose Maria Soberanes and Joaquin Castro. The grant was just south of Spreckels.

History

José Maria Soberanes (1753-1803) was only 16 when he accompanied the

Portola expedition Portola may refer to: * Portola (album), ''Portola'' (album), a 1998 album by Rose Melberg * Portola, California * Portola, San Francisco, California People with the surname * Gaspar de Portolá (ca. 1717-aft.1784), Spanish soldier, first governor ...

to San Francisco Bay in 1769. Soberanes married Maria Josefa Castro (1759-1822) and retired from the military in 1795, and with his father-in-law, Joaquin Ysidro de Castro, received Rancho Buena Vista. Soberanes died in 1803 and his widow Maria Josefa Soberanes moved to

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

with her sons Feliciano Soberanes (1788-1868) and Mariano Soberanes (1794-1859). Rancho Buena Vista was abandoned. The rancho was regranted José Mariano Estrada and his son, José Santiago Estrada, by Governor

Pablo Vicente de Solá Pablo Vicente de Solá (1761–1826) was a Spanish officer and the twelfth and last Spanish colonial governor of Alta California (1815-1822). He was born in Mondragón, Gipuzkoa, Spain. Land grants Solá granted in 1821 the Rancho Rincon de los B ...

in 1822. José Mariano Estrada (1784-), a Lieutenant of Mexican Artillery, came to California with his brother, José Raimundo Estrada (1784-), in 1797 with

José Joaquín de Arrillaga José Joaquín de Arrillaga was a Basque people, Basque officer that served twice as Governor of the Californias and as the first Governor of Alta California, following the partition of the Californias in 1804. He is the only Spanish-era governor ...

. Mariano Estrada was the grantee of the two square league Rancho Buena Vista in 1822, and the two square league Rancho Llano de Buena Vista in 1823. Mariano Estrada married Maria Isabel Argüello who was the daughter of

José Darío Argüello José Darío Argüello (1753–1828) was a Querétaro-born Californio politician, soldier, and ranchero. He served as interim Governor of Alta California and then a term as Governor of Baja California. Biography José Darío Argüello was born ...

. Their son, José Ramón Estrada (1811-1845), was the grantee of Rancho El Toro and

Rancho San Simeon Rancho San Simeon was a Mexican land grant 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 at Pico Creek, ...

. Another son, Julian Estrada (1813 – 1871), was the grantee of Rancho Santa Rosa. A daughter, Josefa Estrada, married Rafael Gomez (1784-1838), grantee of Rancho Tularcitos. With the

cession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdictio ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Buena Vista was filed with the

Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican la ...

in 1852, and the grant was

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

to José Santiago Estrada in 1869. In 1872, Hiram Corey leased the Buena Vista ranch of keeping 450 to 500 cows on the ranch. In 1891, he purchased of the ranch, renaming the property the Rancho Las Palmas.

Historic sites of the Rancho

* Soberanes Adobe. José Estrada, who built this adobe in 1830, sold the property to Feliciano Soberanes (son of José Maria Soberanes). The adobe was the home of the Soberanes family from 1860 until 1922, when William O'Donnell acquired the property. The site is now registered as

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

#712. * Rancho Las Palmas. 1891 house of Hiram Corey, one of Monterey County's most successful stock farmers of the late 19th century. Also noted for its exemplary Queen Anne style in a rural setting.

References

{{California history

Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...

1795 in Alta California

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References