Rancho Pismo 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 Luis Obispo County, California, given in 1840 by acting governor Manuel Jimeno Casarin to José Ortega (probably a descendant or other relative of

José Francisco Ortega José Francisco Ortega (1734 – February 1798) was an indigenous Californio soldier and early settler of Alta California. He joined the military at the age of twenty-one and rose to the rank of sergeant by the time he joined the Portola expedition ...

). The grant extended along the Pacific coast and encompassed present day

Pismo Beach Pismo Beach (Chumash: ''Pismuʔ'') is a city in the southern portion of San Luis Obispo County, in the Central Coast area of California, United States. The estimated population was 8,072 at the 2020 census, up from 7,655 in the 2010 census. It ...

, Grover Beach, Shell Beach and parts of

Arroyo Grande Arroyo often refers to: * Arroyo (creek), an intermittently dry creek Arroyo may also refer to: People * Arroyo (surname) Places United States ;California * Arroyo Burro Beach, a public beach park in Santa Barbara County, California * Arroyo ...

History

José Ortega was granted the two square league rancho in 1840. José Ortega sold Rancho Pismo to Isaac Sparks in 1846. Isaac Sparks (1804–1867) was born in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. He arrived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1832, and by 1848, had established a large otter trapping and merchant business in Santa Barbara. In 1836, he married Maria De Los Remedios Josefa Eayrs (1813-1893), daughter of a sea captain George Washington Eayrs (1775–1855). In 1843, Sparks was the grantee of Rancho Huasna. 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, 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 Pismo was filed with the Public Land Commission 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 Isaac J. Sparks in 1866. In 1850, Sparks resold Rancho Pismo. He sold the southern half (now Grover Beach and Arroyo Grande) to

Francis Ziba Branch Arroyo Grande (Spanish for "Big Creek") is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 18,441 as of the 2020 census, up from 17,252 as of the 2010 Census. History The earliest inhabitants of the Arroyo Gran ...

. He sold the northern half (now Shell Beach and Pismo Beach) to John Price and David P. Mallagh. The Englishman John Price operated Rancho Huasna for Sparks, and it seems that Spark gave him part of Rancho Pismo instead of paying him wages. John Michael Price (1810–1902) came to California in 1830, and worked on

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 bot ...

area ranchos then went to work on Rancho Huasna. Price lived and worked on his Rancho Pismo land until his death in 1902. Irish sea captain David P.Mallagh, came to California in 1849, and soon afterward married Juana de Jesús Carrillo (1829–) of

Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa was an Mexican land grant in present-day Sonoma County, California given in 1841 by Governor pro tem Manuel Jimeno to María Ygnacia López. The grant was along Santa Rosa Creek, and encompassed present-day Santa Ro ...

.Yda Addis Storke, 1891,''Memorial and Biographical History of the Counties of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, California'',The Lewis Publishing Company In 1860 he built a small wharf on the adjacent Rancho San Miguelito, which is now called Mallagh’s Landing.

References

{{California history Pismo Pismo Arroyo Grande, California

History

See also

References