Rancho Quito 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 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Zenon Fernandez and

José Noriega Don José Noriega (March 19, 1796 - May 30, 1869) was a Spanish-born Californio ranchero and politician. He served as Alcalde of San José (mayor) and was a prominent landowner in the Bay Area. Biography Noriega was born on 19 March 1796 in ...

. The grant included present-day Saratoga,

Campbell Campbell may refer to: People Surname * Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell Given name * Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer * Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...

, and

Cupertino Cupertino ( ) is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 57,8 ...

. The eastern boundary was Arroyo San Tomas Aquino.

History

The rancho was granted to José Noriega and his father-in-law, José Zenon Fernandez in 1841. Fernandez, came to California with the Hijar-Padres Colony in 1834, and was a teacher in San Jose from 1836 to 1840. Sons Dionisio and Máximo were granted Rancho Fernandez in 1846. Noriega sold his share of the rancho to José Manuel Alviso in 1844. 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 Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, 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 Quito 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 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 José M. Alviso and the heirs of José Zenon Fernandez (Dioniso Fernandez, Francisco Maximo Fernandez, Jose Zenon Fernandez, Manuela Loveto Fernandez, and Petra Enriquez Fernandez) in 1866. In 1859, Alviso sold part of the rancho to

José Ramon Argüello José Ramon Argüello was the son of Luis Argüello, first native born governor of California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of app ...

. Before the boundaries of the rancho were defined several families occupied what they thought was public land east of Cupertino.

José Noriega

José Noriega (1798–) was born in

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in nor ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and came to California with the Hijar-Padres Colony on the "Natalia" in 1834. He married Manuela Fernandez daughter of José Zenon Fernandez (–1844), who also came with Hijar-Padres Colony in 1834.William H. Ellison, 1953, ''The Life And Adventures In California Of Don Agustin Janssens, 1834–1856'' Noriega was alcalde of San Jose 1839. Noriega was grantee of

Rancho Los Meganos Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...

in 1835 (sold to

John Marsh John Marsh may refer to: Politicians * John Marsh (MP fl. 1394–1397), MP for Bath * John Marsh (MP fl. 1414–1421), MP for Bath *John Allmond Marsh (1894–1952), Canadian Member of Parliament * John Otho Marsh Jr. (1926–2019), American c ...

in 1837),

Rancho Las Positas Rancho Las Positas was a Mexican land grant in present-day Alameda County, California given in 1839 by governor Juan Alvarado to Robert Livermore and José Noriega. Las Positas means "little watering holes" in Spanish. The rancho included th ...

in 1839 (sold to

Robert Livermore Robert Thomas Livermore, also known as Don Roberto Livermore, (c. 3 November 1799 – 14 February 1858) was an English-born Californian ranchero. He emigrated to Alta California in 1822, eventually becoming a Mexican citizen and a prominent landow ...

in 1854), and Rancho Quito in 1841 (sold to Manuel Alviso in 1844), and purchased

Rancho Canada de los Vaqueros Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...

in 1847 (sold in 1856).

References

{{California history

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

Campbell, California Cupertino, California Saratoga, California