Rancho Potrero de San Carlos was a one square league ()

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

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

. It was given in 1837 by Governor

Juan B. Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) was a Californio politician that served as Governor of Alta California from 1837-42. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independen ...

to Fructuoso del Real, a Native American from the Mission San Carlos. The land had been part of the pasture of the Mission San Carlos. The grant was located on the south bank of the Carmel River. As of current day, it is part of The Santa Lucia Preserve, a

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

and

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

History

When Fructuoso del Real died in 1845, he passed the land to his daughter, Maria Estefana del Real, who married Joaquín Gutierrez, a soldier. When Mexico

ceded 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 ...

California to the United States after 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 ...

stipulated that the land grants would be honored. However, owners were required to provide proof of their title. As required by the Land Act of 1851, Gutierrez and Real filed a claim for Rancho Potrero de San Carlos 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. The court approved their

Land patent A land patent is a form of letters patent assigning official ownership of a particular tract of land that has gone through various legally-prescribed processes like surveying and documentation, followed by the letter's signing, sealing, and publi ...

in 1862. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
In 1857 Bradley Varnum Sargent bought Rancho Potrero de San Carlos. Sargent (1828–1893), born in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, came to California with his three brothers, Jacob L. (1818–1890), Roswell C. (1821–1903), and James P. (1823-1890) in 1849. In 1856 the Sargent brothers bought Rancho Juristac south of present-day Gilroy. Sargent moved to Monterey in 1858. Sargent also purchased

Rancho San Francisquito Rancho San Francisquito was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Antonio Buelna. The grant was located on the southwest side of San Francisquito Creek and encompasses pre ...

southeast of Rancho Potrero de San Carlos and combined the two into a single large ranch. He eventually owned thousands of head of cattle and hundreds of horses. He became a prominent attorney until his death in 1893.

References

{{California history Potrero de San Carlos Potrero de San Carlos