Rancho San Carlos de Jonata 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 Barbara County, California Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barba ...

given in 1845 by Governor

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 ...

to Joaquín Carrillo and Jose Maria Covarrubias. The grant was west of

Mission Santa Inés Mission Santa Inés (sometimes spelled Santa Ynez) was a Spanish mission in the present-day city of Solvang, California, and named after St. Agnes of Rome. Founded on September 17, 1804, by Father Estévan Tapís of the Franciscan order, the m ...

in the

Santa Ynez Valley The Santa Ynez Valley is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley from east to west. The Santa Ynez Valle ...

, and extended north from the

Santa Ynez River The Santa Ynez River is one of the largest rivers on the Central Coast of California. It is long, ArcExplorer GIS data viewer. flowing from east to west through the Santa Ynez Valley, reaching the Pacific Ocean at Surf, near Vandenberg Space Fo ...

along Zaca Creek. The grant encompasses present-day Solvang and Buellton.

History

José Joaquin Carrillo (1801–1868) was the son of Domingo Antonio Ygnacio Carrillo (1791–1837) and Maria Concepcion Nicanor Pico (1797–1871). Joaquin Carrillo married Manuela Carrillo and served as Santa Barbara County Judge from 1851–1853, a position later held by

José María Covarrubias José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

from 1861–1863. Joaquín Carrillo owned with his brother

Rancho Lompoc Rancho Lompoc was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Barbara County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Joaquín Carrillo and José Antonio Carrillo. The grant extended from present-day Lompoc west to the Pacific co ...

and

Rancho Mission Vieja de la Purisma Rancho Mission Vieja de la Purisma was a Mexican land grant in present-day northern Santa Barbara County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Joaquín Carrillo and José Antonio Carrillo. The grant included the original site of Mis ...

. José María Covarrubias (c. 1809 – 1870), a Frenchman who became a Mexican citizen and came to California in 1834 with the Hijar-Padres Colony to be a schoolteacher. Covarrubias held several key government posts in

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 both ...

and Santa Barbara. Covarrubias married María Carrillo, sister of Joaquín Carrillo. He served as

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 ...

at Santa Barbara. In 1843 Covarrubias received the

Rancho Castac Rancho Castac or Rancho Castec was a Mexican land grant in present-day Kern and Los Angeles counties, California, made by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Jose Maria Covarrubias in 1843. The rancho in the Tehachapi Mountains lay between Cas ...

land grant. Covarrubias was a member of the

1849 California Constitutional Convention The California Constitutional Conventions were two separate constitutional conventions that took place in California during the nineteenth century which led to the creation of the modern Constitution of California. The first, known as the 1849 ...

, and member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

for four terms 1849–1862. In 1850, Covarrubias bought the Island of Santa Catalina land grant from Thomas M. Robbins. 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 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 ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for the six square league Rancho San Carlos de Jonata 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 Joaquín Carrillo and José M. Covarrubias in 1872. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
Rufus Thompson (R.T.) Buell (1827-1905) was born in Vermont. In 1853 Buell joined the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

, but by 1857 was dairy farming in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

, and in 1865,

Monterey County 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. Montere ...

. In 1866, R.T. Buell and his brother, Alonzo Wilcox Buell, bought a quarter of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata from Joaquín Carrillo and José M. Covarrubias. By 1872 R.T had bought the entire Rancho, and dissolved the partnership with his brother Alonzo. A severe drought forced Buell to sell of the rancho in the 1870s. This property was sold in 1911 to the Danish American Company to establish a Danish colony called " Solvang". The remaining rancho was partitioned among his seven heirs upon his death in 1915.

References

External links

Ranchos of Santa Barbara County Map
{{Santa Ynez River San Carlos de Jonata San Carlos de Jonata Santa Ynez Valley 1845 establishments in Alta California

History

See also

References

External links