Rancho San Lucas 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 the

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley. The Salinas River (Califo ...

, 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 ...

given in 1842 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 Rafael Estrada. The grant extended along the west bank of the Salinas River south of present-day San Lucas. It remains an operating ranch.

History

José Rafael Estrada, son of José Raymundo Estrada and Josefa Maria Vallejo de Alvarado, received the grant of the San Lucas for two square leagues in 1842. Rafael Estrada was a half brother of Governor Juan Alvarado. Estrada sold Rancho San Lucas to James McKinley. Captain James McKinley, a Scottish sailor, arrived at

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 ...

in the 1820s and became a successful trader. In 1843, he was involved in a trading business partnership with Captain John Paty and Henry D. Fitch. He served as an agent for both

Thomas O. Larkin Thomas Oliver Larkin (September 16, 1802 – October 27, 1858), known in Spanish as Don Tomás Larkin, was an American diplomat and businessman. Larkin served as the only U.S. consul to Alta California during the Mexican era and was covertly in ...

and his half brother, Captain

John B.R. Cooper Juan Bautista Rogers Cooper (born John Rogers Cooper on September 11, 1791, Alderney, British Channel Islands – June 2, 1872, San Francisco, California) was a 19th-century pioneer of California, who held British, Mexican, and finally American ...

. McKinley married Carmen Amesti, daughter of José Amesti, who was the grantee of

Rancho Los Corralitos Rancho Los Corralitos was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Cruz County, California given in 1823 by Governor Luis Antonio Argüello, with a confirmatory grant in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to José Amesti. "Los Corralitos" means ...

. McKinley was also the patentee of

Rancho Moro y Cayucos Rancho Moro y Cayucos was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Martin Olivera and Vicente Feliz (Felis). The grant extended along the Pacific Coast from just north ...

. 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 Rancho San Lucas 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 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 James McKinley in 1882. McKinley sold Rancho San Lucas in 1862 to Alberto Trescony (1814-1892), during a drought that devastated California cattle ranches. Trescony, born in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, arrived in Monterey in 1842. A tinsmith, he became wealthy enough manufacturing pans for

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 ...

miners to begin investing in real estate. With the purchase of part of

Rancho San Bernardo San Bernardo (also, Rancho San Bernardo) is a village in Chihuahua, Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United ...

and all of Rancho San Benito, Trescony consolidated his San Lucas holdings into a ranch of about . He also acquired Rancho Tularcitos. Drought in 1871–1872 killed large numbers of Trescony's sheep. In 1876, he moved to Santa Cruz, and turned over the operation of the rancho to his son, Julius A. Trescony. At some point in the 1880s, Alberto Trescony moved back to Monterey County. He died in 1892 during a stay at a Salinas hotel, and is buried at a cemetery in San Lucas, for which he donated the land. The estate was distributed to his three children: a one-third interest to his son; a one-third interest to his daughter, the wife of Robert F. Johnson of

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

; and a one-third interest to the two minor children (Anita Christal and her brother Leo Christal) of his deceased daughter, Rose, wife of J.F. Christal.''Anita Christal Purdy vs Robert F. Johnson and Julius A. Trescony'', 1917, California Decisions By California Supreme Court, Volume 53 The Recorder, San Francisco It remains owned by the Trescony family.

References

External links

* {{Authority control San Lucas 1842 establishments in Alta California Ranches on the National Register of Historic Places in California Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Monterey County, California San Lucas

History

See also

References

External links