Rancho Jesus Maria was a Mexican land grant in present-day northern

Santa Barbara County, California Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a County (United States), county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, California ...

given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Lucas Antonio Olivera and José Antonio Olivera. The grant extended along the Pacific coast from Shuman Canyon south to the Santa Ynez River. It is the site of the present day

Vandenberg Air Force Base Vandenberg may refer to: * Vandenberg (surname), including a list of people with the name * USNS ''General Hoyt S. Vandenberg'' (T-AGM-10), transport ship in the United States Navy, sank as an artificial reef in Key West, Florida * Vandenberg S ...

History

Lucas Antonio and José Antonio Olivera sold the land grant to José Valenzuela in 1839, who, in 1847, sold a one-third share to Pedro Catarino Carrillo and a one-third share to Lewis T. Burton. Pedro Catarino Carrillo (1818 –1888), a son of Carlos Antonio Carrillo, was educated in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He was appointed collector of customs at

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

and Santa Barbara, and also held the offices of

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

and town surveyor of Santa Barbara, and justice of the peace of Los Angeles. Pedro Carrillo married Maria Josefa Ramona Bandini (1823–1896) in 1841. Lewis (Luis) T. Burton (1809–1879) of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

came overland with the Wolfskill party to California in 1831 and arrived in the Santa Barbara area shortly thereafter to trap otter. In 1839, he married Maria Antonia Carrillo (1822–1843), (daughter of Carlos Antonio Carrillo) and sister of Pedro C. Carrillo. Burton served under

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

, and was the first American Mayor of Santa Barbara in 1850. In 1846, Burton bought Rancho Bolsa de Chamisal. Burton Mesa and Burton Mound are named for him. 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 jurisdicti ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Jesus Maria 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 the California State Lands Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican l ...

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 ...

to Lewis T. Burton and José Carrillo in 1871. Lewis Burton kept buying the various shares in Rancho Jesus Maria, and upon Burton’s death in 1879, his son, Ben Burton, inherited all of Rancho Jesus Maria. Edwin Jessop Marshall, a businessman with land holdings in California,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

acquired Rancho Jesus Maria in 1906. In 1941, the Marshall estate sold the rancho to the United States government for use as a military facility; it is now

Vandenberg Space Force Base Vandenberg Space Force Base , previously Vandenberg Air Force Base, is a United States Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County, California. Established in 1941, Vandenberg Space Force Base is a space launch base, launching spacecraft from the ...

.Camp Cooke and Vandenberg Air Force Base, 1941-1966: From Armor and Infantry Training to Space and Missile Launches By Jeffrey E. Geiger
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References

External links

Ranchos of Santa Barbara County Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rancho Jesus Maria Jesus Maria Vandenberg Space Force Base

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

History

See also

References

External links