Rancho Santa Clara del Norte 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 ...

on the

Oxnard Plain The Oxnard Plain is a large coastal plain in southwest Ventura County, California, United States surrounded by the mountains of the Transverse ranges. The cities of Oxnard, Camarillo, Port Hueneme and much of Ventura as well as the unincorpora ...

in present-day

Ventura County, California Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxn ...

. It was granted 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 Juan María Sánchez. The grant extended along the south bank of the Santa Clara River, east of present-day

Oxnard Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

and encompasses El Rio.

History

Juan María Sánchez (1791-1873), son of José Tadeo Sánchez, was a former

Presidio of Santa Barbara A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

soldier. He married María Ynes Josefa Guevara (1794-1862). 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 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 Santa Clara del Norte was filed with the Public Land Commission 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 Juan María Sánchez in 1869. Following the droughts in 1864, Sánchez sold Rancho Santa Clara del Norte to the Schiappa Pietra brothers, natives of

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 ...

. Antonio Schiappa Pietra (1832–1895) came to California in 1853, and opened a general merchandise store in Ventura in 1857. He was joined by his brothers, Frederico Schiappa Pietra and Leopoldo Schiappa Pietra. In 1902, Leopoldo sold the rancho to California Farm and Fruit Company of

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

Historic sites of the Rancho

*Sanchez Adobe —adobe residence built in 1838 by Juan Maria Sanchez, with a second story added in 1900.http://www.laokay.com/Adobes-Historic_Ventura.htm laokay: Historic Ventura Adobes . 8/28/2010

References

{{Santa Clara River Santa Clara del Norte Santa Clara del Norte Santa Clara River (California) History of Oxnard, California 1837 establishments in Alta California

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References