Rancho Saucelito (also called "Rancho Sausalito") 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
Marin County, California
Marin County is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and ...
, given in 1838 by Governor
Juan Alvarado to
William A. Richardson
William Anthony Richardson (August 27, 1795 – April 20, 1856) was an early California entrepreneur, influential in the development of Yerba Buena, the forerunner of the city of San Francisco.
Richardson was the first to receive a land gran ...
. The name means "ranch of the little willow grove". The grant extended from the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
on the west, to
Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais (; ; Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Támal Pájiṣ''), known locally as Mount Tam, is a mountain, peak in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tama ...
to the north, and the
Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio and
Richardson Bay on the east; and included present-day
Muir Beach
Muir Beach is a census designated place (CDP), unincorporated community, and beach on the Pacific Ocean. The community is located northwest of San Francisco in western Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. Unlike many ...
,
Stinson Beach
Stinson Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, on the west coast of the United States. Stinson Beach is located east-southeast of Bolinas, at an elevation of . The population of the St ...
,
Sausalito,
Tamalpais Valley, and
Homestead Valley.
History
The grant was originally made to José Antonio Galindo in 1835. José Antonio Galindo also received
Rancho Laguna de la Merced in 1835. In 1838, José Antonio Galindo was arrested for the murder of José Doroteo Peralta (1810 - 1838), son of Pedro Peralta. Rancho Saucelito was re-granted to William A. (Guillermo Antonio) Richardson.
With the
cession 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 Saucelito 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 to William Richardson in 1879.
Richardson made a series of poor investments and ended up in debt to many creditors. In 1856, ailing and in financial straits, Captain Richardson put Rancho Saucelito into the hands of an administrator, Samuel R. Throckmorton, and died two months later.
Samuel Reading Throckmorton (1809 - 1883), who had come to San Francisco in 1850 as an agent for an eastern mining business, was the administrator of Richardson's estate. Throckmorton acquired a major part of Rancho Sausalito as payment of debt. In 1868, Throckmorton sold to a group of San Francisco businessmen who called themselves the Sausalito Land & Ferry Company. The mud flats and hillsides were surveyed, roads were graded, and ferry service was inaugurated.
Historic sites of the Rancho
*The Homestead. Around 1866, Samuel Throckmorton built a lodge on Rancho Sausalito, where he brought friends to hunt elk and bear. Throckmorton named the lodge, "The Homestead", a name later applied to the valley. The Homestead burned down in 1900.
See also
*
Ranchos of California
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 ...
*
List of Ranchos of California
These California land grants were made by Spanish (1784–1821) and Mexican (1822–1846) authorities of Las Californias and Alta California to private individuals before California became part of the United States of America.Shumway, Burgess M ...
References
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Saucelito
Saucelito
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Sausalito, California
West Marin
Sauce
In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...