Rancho Trabuco was a Mexican land grant in present-day

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The five square league grant consisted of two square leagues given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Santiago Argüello plus three square leagues given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to

John (Don Juan) Forster Don Juan Forster (born ''John''; 1814 – February 20, 1882) was an English-born Californio ranchero and merchant. Born in England, he emigrated to Mexico at age 16 and became a Mexican citizen. Soon after, he moved to California (then a prov ...

. The name "trabuco" means " blunderbuss" in Spanish. The grant extended along Trabuco Creek and

Trabuco Canyon Trabuco Canyon (''Trabuco'', Spanish for " Blunderbuss") is a small unincorporated community located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cleveland National Forest. Trabuco ...

, and encompassed present-day Coto de Caza. The grant was bordered by Rancho Cañada de los Alisos on the west, and by

Rancho Mission Viejo Rancho Mission Viejo (Spanish: ''Rancho Misión Vieja'', meaning "Old Mission Ranch") is an active ranch and farm, habitat reserve, residential community, and census-designated place in South Orange County, California. Rancho Mission Viejo orig ...

on the east.

History

Santiago Argüello was a soldier in the Mexican army, and was commandant at the Presidio of San Diego from 1830 to 1835. In 1841, Argüello was granted the two square league Rancho Trabuco for his services. In 1846 Argüello was granted Rancho Ex-Mission San Diego. John Forster, who was the grantee of the adjacent Rancho Mission Viejo in 1845, acquired Argüello's Rancho Trabuco and was granted an additional three square leagues in 1846. 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 Trabuco 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 John Forster in 1866. In 1864, Forster added Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores to his holdings. Forster died in 1882. Irish immigrants, Richard O'Neill Sr. and James Flood, acquired the rancho in 1882. Flood and O'Neill became equal partners of the Rancho Santa Margarita y las Flores, Rancho Mission Viejo and Rancho Trabuco lands. In 1907, James L. Flood, son of the original owner, made good on his late father's promise and conveyed an undivided half interest to O'Neill, Sr. Four months later, declining health caused O'Neill to deed his interest to his son, Jerome. In 1923, the sons of Flood and O'Neill consolidated their partnership with the Santa Margarita Company. In 1939, property was divided. Richard O'Neill Jr. retained the Rancho Mission Viejo and Rancho Trabuco portion located in Orange County, and the Flood family took the Rancho Santa Margarita y las Flores property in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

. Most of Rancho Trabuco is now the site of O'Neill Regional Park

References

{{California history Trabuco Trabuco