Rancho San Miguel 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 Sonoma County, California given in 1840 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 ...

William Marcus West William Marcus "Mark" West was a Scottish American pioneer who settled in what is now eastern Sonoma County, California, United States. Life West came to the area in 1832, soon after marrying Guadalupe Vasquez, a sister of General Vallejo. At ...

. The grant was located north of present-day

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * Sa ...

, between

Mark West Creek Mark West Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 9, 2011 stream that rises in the Mayacamas Mountains of Sonoma County, California, United States. Tributaries ...

and

Santa Rosa Creek Santa Rosa Creek is a 22-mile-long (35 km) stream in Sonoma County, California, which rises on Hood Mountain and discharges to the Laguna de Santa Rosa by way of the Santa Rosa Flood Control Channel. This article covers both the creek and t ...

, and encompassed present-day Mark West and

Mark West Springs Mark West Springs is set of springs in eastern Santa Rosa, California that were used as a resort since 1880 and perhaps earlier. Mark West Springs is located on Porter Creek Road in the Mayacamas Mountains. Mark West Creek flows through the com ...

History

William Mark West (d.1849), a Scot, came to Sonoma in 1832, soon after marrying Guadalupe Vasquez, a niece of General Vallejo in Santa Cruz,

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 States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Mark West built an adobe and established a trading post and post office near the stream which now bears his name. Mark West died in 1849, leaving his land to his wife and seven children (Maria Luisa Del Carmet, Mark, Juan, William, Charles, Adelaide, and Chata). General Vallejo administered the estate. A claim for Rancho San Miguel 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. The claim for six square leagues was rejected by the Land Commission in 1855, but confirmed by the US District Court in 1857. The US Attorney General filed an appeal with the case to the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

. The Supreme Court accepted one and a half square leagues, and the grant was patented to Guadalupe Vasquez de West in 1865. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886

References

{{California history San Miguel (West) San Miguel (West)