Rancho Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente, commonly known as Rancho Las Aromas, 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

San Benito County, California San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish language, Spanish for "Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county (United States), county located in the California Coast Ranges, Coast Range Mountains of the ...

given in 1835 by Governor

José Castro José Antonio Castro (1808 – February 1860) was a Californio politician, statesman, and general who served as interim Governor of Alta California and later Governor of Baja California. During the Bear Flag Revolt and the American Conquest of ...

to Juan Miguel Anzar. The name means "little perfumes and hot spring" and refers to nearby sulfur springs. The grant is close to the

Santa Cruz County, California Santa Cruz County (), officially the County of Santa Cruz, is a county on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 270,861. The county seat is Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz County comprises the Santa ...

line and encompassed present-day Aromas.

History

The three square league Rancho Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente was granted to Juan Miguel Anzar in 1835. Juan Miguel Anzar was the brother of padre Jose Antonio Anzar (1792-) who served at the

Mission San Juan Bautista Mission San Juan Bautista is a Spanish mission in San Juan Bautista, San Benito County, California. Founded on June 24, 1797 by Fermín Lasuén of the Franciscan order, the mission was the fifteenth of the Spanish missions established in presen ...

until he returned to Mexico in 1835. Juan Miguel Anzar (-1852) married Maria Antonia Castro. When Juan Miguel Anzar died in 1852, he held title to Rancho Aromitas y Agua Caliente, Rancho Santa Ana y Quien Sabe, Rancho Real de los Aguilas and Rancho Los Carneros. His widow, Maria Antonia Castro de Anzar, married Frederick A. MacDougall (a doctor from Scotland). Maria Antonia Castro de Anzar de MacDougall died May 30, 1855, leaving MacDougall and her children (Anatolio Anzar, Juan Francisco Anzar and Policronio Anzar) as heirs. 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 Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente 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 Frederick A. MacDougall, Anatolio Anzar, Juan Francisco Anzar and Policronio Anzar in 1862. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886

References

{{California history Aromitas y Agua Caliente, Los Las Aromitas y Agua Caliente

History

See also

References