Rancho Las Uvas 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 Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Lorenzo Pinedo (often spelt Pineda). The name means "ranch of the grapes" and is derived from an abundance of wild grapes (

Vitis californica ''Vitis californica'', with common names California wild grape, Northern California grape, and Pacific grape, is a wild grape species widespread across much of California as well as southwestern Oregon.Jepson Flora''Vitis californica''/ref> The ...

) along the area's main watercourses. The grant was 3 miles west of present-day

Morgan Hill Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining, entertainmen ...

, and covered the hilly area drained by the

Uvas Creek Uvas Creek is a mainly southward-flowing stream originating on Loma Prieta peak of the Santa Cruz Mountains, in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The creek descends through Uvas Canyon County Park into Uvas Reservoir near Morgan Hi ...

and

Llagas Creek Llagas Creek is a perennial stream in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The headwaters rise on the eastern side of Crystal Peak near Loma Prieta. From there, the creek flows northeast along Casa Loma Road, until it reaches Uvas Road, ...

, and is the site of present-day

Uvas Reservoir Uvas Reservoir is an artificial lake located west of Morgan Hill, California in the United States. The reservoir is surrounded by a park managed by the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department. The park provides limited fishing ("catc ...

History

Lorenzo Pinedo, arrived in California from

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

, the sole survivor of a shipwreck off the coast at

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 ...

. Lorenzo Pinedo married Maria del Carmen Berreyesa, the daughter of José de los Reyes Berreyesa, in 1839, and received the three square league grant in 1842. Lorenzo Pinedo died in 1852. Martin Murphy had brought his family to California with the Stephens-Townsend-Murphy Party in 1844. Martin Murphy purchased

Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Figueroa to Juan María Hernandez. The name means "pig's spring". The grant extended south from Rancho Lagu ...

. Martin Murphy's son, Bernard Murphy, purchased Rancho La Polka on the east boundary of

Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Carlos Antonio Castro. The grant extended along Llagas Creek from about one mile south of pres ...

and Rancho Las Uvas on the western boundary of Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche. Bernard Murphy was killed in the explosion of the steamboat "Jenny Lind" en route from Alviso to San Francisco on April 11, 1853. 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 Uvas was filed by Bernard Murphy 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 Martin J. C. Murphy (1853-1872), son of Bernard Murphy, in 1860. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886

References

{{Santa Clara County, California Uvas, Las

Las Uvas Las Uvas is a Corregimientos of Panama, corregimiento in San Carlos District, Panama, San Carlos District, Panamá Oeste Province, Panama with a population of 1,587 as of 2010. Its population as of 1990 was 1,170; its population as of 2000 was 1,4 ...

Morgan Hill, California

History

See also

References