Rancho Pescadero (also called "Punta del Cipreses") 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 1836 by Governor

Nicolás Gutiérrez Lieutenant Colonel Nicolás Gutiérrez was twice acting governor of the northern part of ''Las Californias'' (what had previously been Alta California) in 1836, from January to May and July to November. Gutiérrez served two short terms a ...

to Fabián Barreto. Pescadero means fishing place in Spanish. The grant extended along the Pacific coast from

Rancho Punta de Pinos Rancho Punta de los Piños was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa to José María Armenta, and regranted to José Abrego in 1844 by Governor Manuel Mich ...

and Seal Rocks south to Carmel by the Sea and encompassed present day

Pebble Beach, California Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

History

Fabián Barreto, a Mexican who came to

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 ...

in 1827 married María del Carmen Garcia Barreto Madariaga in 1833. Barreto received the one square league grant in 1836, but died in 1841. Barreto was "killed by a beam," chwaldpresumably while building a house. His widow, Maria, married Juan Madariaga in 1844. Madariaga Adobe on Abrego Street in Monterey is named after his family. Juan Madariaga's mother was also named "Maria Madariaga" and the two Marias (and there were more) are often confused in local lore. Maria, the wife of Juan, sold the Rancho Pescadero before she married into the Madariaga family, so it never did belong to the Madariaga's. Maria - the Ghost Lady - most likely could not pay the taxes on the land, and was forced to sell it. David Jacks acquired the property through the Romies. Maria also likely did not understand what part of her holdings that she was selling, as title documents were often not available, which may account for the double-sale. The sudden death of the ill-fated Fabian Barreto, second husband of Maria, resulted in the passing of the land to John Romie and then to David Jacks. (a more complete description of this transaction history (with date discrepancies) can be found on a website dealing with the Hart Mansion - hartmansion.com.) In 1846 (?) Maria Madariaga sold Rancho Pescadero to John Romie. John Frederick Romie and his wife, Maria A. Frohn (1801–1886), came from

Hamburg, Germany (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

to Mexico in 1835. In 1841 they came to Monterey where Romie operated a tailoring business. After the discovery of gold, Romie went to the mines, and died at Placerville in 1850. His widow sold Rancho Pescadero to John C. Gore in 1852. In 1860 he year she died?María Madariaga re-sold the land to David Jacks, who owned the adjoining Rancho Aguajito to the east. David Jacks married Maria Cristina Soledad Romie (1835-), the daughter of J. F. and Maria A. Frohn Romie in 1861. 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 Pescadero was filed by John C. Gore 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, but 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 David Jacks in 1868. Litigation over the Rancho Pescadero double deed began in 1860. David Jacks sold the rancho to the

Pacific Improvement Company The Pacific Improvement Company (PIC) was a large holding company in California and an affiliate of the Southern Pacific Railroad. It was formed in 1878, by the Big Four, who were influential businessmen, philanthropists and railroad tycoons who ...

in 1880. When Gore died in 1887, he willed the rancho and its troubles to his son, John C. Gore, Jr. The US Supreme Court dismissed the case in 1905.Grace MacFarland, 1914, ''Monterey: Cradle of California's Romance''

References

{{California history Pescadero (Barreto) Pescadero (Barreto)

Pesc The Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island (also called the Prince Edward Island Supreme Court, or PESC) is the superior court of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The Court is composed of five judges, led by its Chief Justice, curr ...