Rancho Laguna de Tache was a

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement for ...

in present-day

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...

and

Kings County, California Kings County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. The population was 152,486 at the 2020 census. The California Department of Finance estimated the county's population was 152,940 as of July 1, 2019.http://dof.ca.gov/Forecasting ...

given in 1846 by Governor

Pío Pico Don Pío de Jesús Pico (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of California (present-day U.S. state of California) under Mexican rule. A member of ...

to Manuel Castro. The grant is named for the lake of the Tachi band of the

Yokuts people The Yokuts (previously known as MariposasPowell, 1891:90–91.) are an ethnic group of Native Americans native to central California. Before European contact, the Yokuts consisted of up to 60 tribes speaking several related languages. ''Yokuts ...

. The grant extended along the north bank of the Kings River from Kingsburg down river for twenty six miles, and included the present-day Laton, Riverdale and Lanare. This grant is not to be confused with the grant of the same name on the South side of Kings River later claimed by

Joseph Yves Limantour Joseph Yves Limantour (1812 – 1885) was a French merchant who engaged in the California sea trade during the years preceding American occupation of that Mexican province in 1846. He was also known in California as José Limantour. Life Liman ...

History

The eleven square league grant was made to Manuel de Jesus Castro (1821-1885) in 1843, although a deed to secure the ownership was not issued until 1846. Castro's father, Simeon Castro, owned

Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo was a Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to María Antonia Pico de Castro. Literally translated, the name means "new pocket and lame moor". In ...

. Manuel Castro had been an Army captain under Governor

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general of the Mexican Army, adjutant-general of the same, governor, commandant-general and inspector of the department of Las Californias, then ...

. Castro had also served as prefect of the Northern District of California. Castro remained in

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 ...

and sent Ysidor Villa to Rancho Laguna de Tache as foreman. 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 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 1853, 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 Manuel Castro in 1866. A claim for two square leagues by Jeremiah Clark was rejected by the Public Land Commission. A claim for 11 leagues was filed by

in 1853, but was rejected by the Commission. Jeremiah Clark acquired the entire Rancho Laguna de Tache from Manuel Castro in 1866. Clark built "Grant House" about three miles west of Laton in 1879. In 1880 Clark leased Rancho Laguna de Tache to the Polley Heilbron & Company for a term of 10 years, with an option of purchasing this lands. Clarke's wife, Charlotte, had Clark declared mentally incompetent and, after numerous court cases, prevented Polley Heilbron & Company from purchasing the Rancho. Charlotte F. Clark sold the Rancho to Charles A. Laton, a San Francisco capitalist and Llewellyn A. Nares, an Englishman (for whom the towns Laton and Lanare are named) in 1896. In 1892, the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company secured and gained control of the Rancho's riparian water claims.The Kings River Handbook
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References

{{Tulare Basin Hydrography, state=collapsed Laguna de Tache (Castro) Laguna de Tache (Castro) Laguna de Tache (Castro) History of the San Joaquin Valley Tulare Basin watershed Laguna de Tache