Rancho Las Positas y La Calera 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

Santa Barbara County, California Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

. The grant consisted of two parts:- "La Calera" (The Lime Kiln) given in 1843 by 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 ...

to Narciso Fabregat, and "Las Positas" (Spanish for "little pools", the diminutive form of "las pozas" - probably referring to water from Veronica Springs) 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 Thomas M. Robbins. The grant was the northwest of the pueblo and

Presidio of Santa Barbara A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th century, 16th and 18th century, 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Captaincy Genera ...

, and encompassed the present day

Hope Ranch Hope Ranch is an unincorporated coastal suburb of Santa Barbara, California, located in Santa Barbara County. It is bounded on the east by Santa Barbara, on the north and west by the unincorporated area of Noleta, and on the south by the Pacifi ...

, Hidden Valley, and Campanil neighborhoods.

History

Narciso Fabregat was a Lieutenant with the "Mazatlan Volunteers" sent in 1819 to protect the

Santa Barbara Presidio Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

and pueblo from attack by the privateer

Hippolyte de Bouchard Hippolyte or Hipólito Bouchard (15 January 1780 – 4 January 1837) was a French-born Argentine sailor and corsair who fought for Argentina, Chile, and Peru. During his first campaign as an Argentine corsair he attacked the Spanish colonies of ...

. In 1845, Fabregat sold La Calera to Thomas Robbins. Thomas M. Robbins (1801–1854) was a

Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

sea captain who came to California in 1823. Robbins married Maria Encarnacion Carrillo (1814-1876), daughter of

Carlos Antonio Carrillo Carlos Antonio Carrillo (24 December 1783 – 23 February 1852) was a Californio politician, military officer, and ranchero. He was nominated to serve as Governor of Alta California from 1837–38, in opposition to Juan Bautista Alvarado's rule. ...

, in Santa Barbara in 1834. In July 1846, Robbins added the additional half square league grant "Las Positas" given to him by Pio Pico. Robbins was also granted Santa Catalina Island by Pío Pico in 1846. 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 Positas y La Calera 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 Thomas M. Robbins in 1870. In 1861, Thomas Hope bought the co-joined Rancho Las Positas y La Calera from Robbins' widow Encarnacion Carrillo. Thomas W. Hope (1820–1876) was born in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and came to the United States in 1836. He learned sheep and cattle ranching in West Texas. During the

Gold Rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Z ...

he went to San Francisco, where he married Delia Fox. Thomas Hope moved to Santa Barbara in 1850 to become a sheep rancher and prospered, especially when the price of wool skyrocketed during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Thomas Hope died in 1876, and left the western half of the rancho to his widow, Delia, and the eastern half to his six children (Anna, Katie, John, Rosa, Theresa, and James). In 1887, Delia Hope sold her half to the

Pacific Improvement Company The Pacific Improvement Company (PIC) was a large holding company in California and an affiliate of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was formed in 1878, by the Big Four, who were influential businessmen, philanthropists and railroad tycoons who ...

and moved to San Francisco. Delia Hope's sale marked the beginning of the development of the present-day Hope Ranch. In 1892 Thomas Hope’s body was exhumed and taken to San Francisco for reburial.Walter A. Tompkins, 1980, ''Old Spanish Santa Barbara:From Cabrillo to Fremont'', McNally & Loftin,

Historic sites of the Rancho

Thomas Hope House. Designed by prominent architect Peter J. Barber, the home was completed in 1875. Thomas Hope House is a Santa Barbara County Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historical Places.

References

External links

Ranchos of Santa Barbara County Map
{{California history Positas y La Calera, Las Las Positas y La Calera Lime kilns in the United States

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References

External links