Rancho Paso de Robles 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 fo ...

in present-day

San Luis Obispo County, California San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Miss ...

given in 1844 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, t ...

to José Pedro Narváez. The name means "Pass of the Oaks". The grant encompassed present-day

Paso Robles Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish language, Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River (California), Sal ...

and

Templeton Templeton may refer to: Places * Templeton station, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada * Templeton, New Zealand United Kingdom * Templeton, Angus, Scotland * Templeton, Devon, England * Templeton, Pembrokeshire, Wales ** RAF Templeton * Templet ...

History

The six square league Rancho Paso de Robles grant was made to José Pedro Narváez, a Mexican naval officer, who served as captain of the port of

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 bo ...

from 1839 to 1844. Narváez sold Rancho Paso de Robles to Petronilo Ríos in 1845. Petronilo Ríos (1806–1870) was a Mexican soldier who came to California in the mid-1820s. He married Catarina Avila (1812–1889) in 1832. In the 1830s Ríos was shuttling between

and

Mission San Miguel Arcángel Mission San Miguel Arcángel is a Spanish mission in San Miguel, California. It was established on July 25, 1797 by the Franciscan order, on a site chosen specifically due to the large number of Salinan Indians that inhabited the area, whom the ...

where he was corporal commanding the mission guard. In 1835, with local Indian labor, he built the Rios-Caledonia Adobe. In 1839, he was promoted to commander of artillery at the presidio in Monterey, and retired from the military in 1840. In 1842 Ríos obtained the

Rancho San Bernabe Rancho San Bernabe was a Mexican land grant in the Salinas Valley, in present-day Monterey County, California. The three-square-league grant consisted of one square league granted in 1841 to Jesus Molina, and an additional two square leagues gr ...

land grant and moved his family there. In 1845 Ríos moved his family from Rancho San Bernabe to Rancho Paso de Robles. In 1846 William Reed, Miguel Garcia, and Petronilo Ríos bought the San Miguel rancho from

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 t ...

. Ríos and his family moved into the Rios-Caledonia Adobe in 1851. 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 jurisdict ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial 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% of Mexic ...

, 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 Paso de Robles 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 l ...

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 Petronilo Ríos in 1886. In 1857, Ríos sold Rancho Paso de Robles and moved to Santa Clara. The entire rancho was purchased by James H. Blackburn, Daniel Drew Blackburn, natives of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

who came to California in 1849, and Lazard Godchaux. In 1860, the partners divided the rancho, with D.D. Blackburn taking one league of land including the hot springs. In 1865, D.D. Blackburn sold a half-interest to Drury W. James. D. W. James had come from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

to California in 1849, and drove cattle from Santa Clara to the gold mines. Later he bought cattle as far south as

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. James stopped at the Paso Robles springs on a cattle-buying trip in 1851. J.H. Blackburn never married, but D. D. Blackburn and D. W. James married sisters, Celia and Louisa Dunn in 1866. After the death of J.H. Blackburn, there were many lawsuits brought by some of the D. D. Blackburn children for portions of the estate, which had been willed to Mrs. D. D. Blackburn and certain of the children.Annie L. Morrison and John H. Haydon, 1917, ''History of San Luis Obispo County and Environs California with Biographical Sketches'', Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, California

References

{{California history Paso de Robles Paso de Robles Paso Robles, California

History

See also

References