Rancho Los Ojitos 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 Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Mariano de Jesus Soberanes. The grant is now mostly

Lake San Antonio Lake San Antonio is a lake located primarily in southern Monterey County, California, and partially in northern San Luis Obispo County, California. The lake is formed by San Antonio Dam on the San Antonio River. The dam is 202 feet (62 m) tal ...

which was created when the San Antonio dam was built across the

San Antonio River The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in midtown San Antonio, about 4 miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the ...

History

With

secularization In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

, the lands of the

Mission San Antonio de Padua Mission San Antonio de Padua is a Spanish mission established by the Franciscan order in present-day Monterey County, California, near the present-day town of Jolon. Founded on July 14, 1771, it was the third mission founded in Alta California ...

were divided into at least ten Mexican land grants (including

Rancho Milpitas Rancho Milpitas was a Mexican land grant in Santa Clara County, California. The name comes from the Nahuatl word for maize and could be translated "little cornfields". The grant included what is now the city of Milpitas. History The land was ...

(Little Fields), Rancho El Piojo (The Louse),

Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad was a Mexican land grant in present day southern Monterey County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José Rafael Gonzalez. The grant extended along the Nacimiento River and Stony Creek, wes ...

, and Rancho Los Ojitos (Little Springs) ). The Soberanes family patriarch, José Maria Soberanes (1753–1803) accompanied the

Portola expedition Portola may refer to: * Portola (album), ''Portola'' (album), a 1998 album by Rose Melberg * Portola, California * Portola, San Francisco, California People with the surname * Gaspar de Portolá (ca. 1717-aft.1784), Spanish soldier, first governor ...

to San Francisco Bay in 1769. Soberanes married Maria Josefa Castro (1759–1822) and received Rancho Buena Vista. His sons, Feliciano Soberanes (1788–1868) and Mariano de Jesus Soberanes, and William Edward Petty Hartnell were granted

Rancho El Alisal Rancho El Alisal was a Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California, given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa to the brothers Feliciano and Mariano Soberanes and to William Edward Petty Hartnell. Alisal means Alder tree (sycamo ...

in 1833. Mariano de Jesus Soberanes (1794–1859) was a soldier and also held the office of alcade in

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

. Mariano Soberanes married María Isidora Vallejo (1791–1830), sister of General

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the trans ...

. Their daughter, Maria Ygnacia Soberanes, married Dr. Edward Turner Bale grantee of

Rancho Carne Humana Rancho Carne Humana was a Mexican land grant in present-day Napa County, California, given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Edward Turner Bale. The name means "human flesh" in Spanish. There is speculation as to why the name was chosen. The ...

. Mariano de Jesus Soberanes was granted Rancho San Bernardo and the two square league, former lands of the

, Rancho Los Ojitos in 1842. In 1844, Mariano de Jesus Soberanes married Governor Alvarado's mistress, Maria Raimunda Castillo (1813–1880), the daughter of Jose Castillo and Zeferina Sinaloba of Monterey. In 1845 Soberanes was judge at San Miguel. In 1846, during the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, Soberanes was arrested with his sons by soldiers of Frémont and his property at Rancho Los Ojitos destroyed. 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 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 Los Ojitos 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 1853, 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 Mariano Soberanes in 1871. By 1880, the James Brown Cattle Company owned and operated Rancho Los Ojitos. In 1940, in preparation for involvement in World War II, the U.S. War Department purchased the land to create a troop training facility known as the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation.Draft Fort Hunter Ligget Special Resource Study & Environmental Assessment: Chapter 2 Cultural Resources
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References

{{California history Ojitos Los Ojitos