Rancho Tularcitos 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 Monterey County, California given in 1834 by Governor

José Figueroa José Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835), was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. He wrote the first book to be published in California. Background and governorship Figueroa was a Mestizo of Spanish a ...

to Rafael Gómez. Tularcitos means "place of the little

Tule ''Schoenoplectus acutus'' ( syn. ''Scirpus acutus, Schoenoplectus lacustris, Scirpus lacustris'' subsp. ''acutus''), called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the pl ...

thickets". The grant was in the upper Carmel Valley, along Tularcitos Creek, and was bounded on the west by

Rancho Los Laureles Rancho Los Laureles was a Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José M. Boronda and Vicente Blas Martínez. Los Laureles refers to the California Bay Laurel tree. The grant e ...

History

Rafael Gómez (1784-1838), born in

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 ...

, came to California in 1830 as a legal advisor to Governor

Manuel Victoria Manuel Victoria (died 1833) was governor of the Mexican-ruled territory of Alta California from January 1831 to December 6, 1831. He died in exile. He was appointed governor on March 8, 1830 by Lucas Alamán. Exile The revolt, called Battle of Ca ...

. In 1831, he married Josefa Antonia Estrada (1813-1890), a daughter of José Mariano Estrada, grantee of Rancho Buena Vista. Gómez was a supporter of Figueroa, but resigned his position, and was granted the six square league Rancho Tularcitos in 1834. He held public offices in Monterey in 1835-36. Rafael Gómez died in an accident on Rancho Tularcitos in 1838. 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 Tularcitos 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 Josefa Antonia Estrada de Gómez in 1866. After Rafael Gómez died in 1838, Josefa Antonia Gómez married Charles Wolter, a German sea captain of a Mexican ship, who settled in Monterey in 1833. Josefa Antonia Gómez sold Rancho Tularcitos to Andrew J. Ogletree. Ogletree lost the rancho to Alberto Trescony, owner of Rancho San Lucas, in a mortgage foreclosure in 1880. Trescony gradually sold off the land, except for . Andrius Blomquist was born in Sweden in 1846 and emigrated to the United States in 1867 to start a new life. He eventually settled in upper Carmel Valley in 1885 and acquired nearly of Rancho Tularcitos. In 1924, Rancho Tularcitos came under the ownership of John E. Marble, and the Marble family took on the responsibility of managing the ranching operations for a considerable duration thereafter. The ranch was eventually divided between his sons, John M. and Robert. John M. inherited the ranch headquarters, while Robert received the eastern section of the ranch. By the late 1940s, Bill Dorrance served as the ranch superintendent. Robert Marble decided to rename his portion of the ranch to Rana Creek Ranch.

Mike Markkula Armas Clifford "Mike" Markkula Jr. (; born February 11, 1942) is an American electrical engineer, businessman and investor. He was the original angel investor, first chairman, and second CEO for Apple Computer, Inc., providing critical early fu ...

bought the Rana Creek Ranch in 1982 from the Marble family. The Wildlands Conservancy acquired Rana Creek Ranch in July 2023 and plans to open it to the public.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tularcitos (Gomez) California ranchos

Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains *Tula Point India *Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the pr ...

History

See also

References