Rancho Llano de Buena Vista was a
Mexican land grant in the
Salinas Valley, in present-day
Monterey County, California, given in 1823 by Governor
Luís Antonio Argüello
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is archaic ...
to José Mariano Estrada. In English, the name means "Good View Plain". The grant extended along the north bank of the
Salinas River across the river from the Estrada family's
Rancho Buena Vista Rancho Buena Vista was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Felipe, an Indian. The name means "good view" in Spanish. The grant was south of San Luis Rey River and Rancho Monse ...
, and up the river from
Hill Town. Rancho Llano de Buena Vista encompassed present-day
Spreckels.
History
José Mariano Estrada (1784-), a lieutenant of the Mexican Artillery, came to California with his brother, José Raimundo Estrada (1784-), in 1797 with
José Joaquín de Arrillaga
José Joaquín de Arrillaga was a Basque people, Basque officer that served twice as Governor of the Californias and as the first Governor of Alta California, following the partition of the Californias in 1804. He is the only Spanish-era governor ...
. Mariano Estrada married Maria Isabel Argüello, who was the daughter of
José Darío Argüello and sister of Luís Antonio Argüello. Mariano Estrada was the grantee of the twosquare league
Rancho Buena Vista Rancho Buena Vista was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Felipe, an Indian. The name means "good view" in Spanish. The grant was south of San Luis Rey River and Rancho Monse ...
in 1822, and the two square league Rancho Llano de Buena Vista in 1823. Mariano Estrada was executor of the Luís Argüello estate in 1830.
José Mariano Estrada's daughter Maria Adelaida Altagracia Estrada (1811-1875) married David Spence in 1829. Scotsman David Spence (1798-1875) came to
Monterey in 1824 on a vessel from
Lima,
Peru to work for
William Hartnell. Spence was grantee of
Rancho Encinal y Buena Esperanza in 1834,
alcalde
Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...
of Monterey in 1839, and a member of the state legislature.
With the
cession 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 provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Llano de Buena Vista 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 to David Spence in 1860.
His only son, David Steward Spence (1830-1868), who married Refugio Malarin, daughter of Juan Malarin, grantee of
Rancho Chualar Rancho Chualar was a Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California. It was given in 1839 by Governor pro tem Manuel Jimeno to Juan Malarín.
The grant extended along the north bank of the Salinas River, a ...
, died in 1868, leaving three sons and a daughter, who inherited their grandfather’s estate.
In 1865 Carlisle S. Abbott (1828- ) rented about of land in the area of Rancho Llano de Buena Vista and operated a dairy cattle farm. By 1875 he owned the land. He subsequently sold
David Jacks.
[Carlisle S. Abbott, 1917, ''Recollections of a California Pioneer'', The Neale Publishing Company, New York]
In 1890,
Claus Spreckels built his sugar beets factory on Rancho Llano de Buena Vista.
See also
*
Ranchos of California
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 ...
*
List of Ranchos of California
References
{{California history
Llano de Buena Vista
1823 in Alta California
1823 establishments in Alta California
Llano de Buena Vista