Rancho Jamul 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

San Diego County, California 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 fi ...

given in 1829 by Mexican Governor

José María de Echeandía José María de Echeandía (?–1871) was twice Mexican governor of Alta California from 1825 to 1831 and again from 1832 to 1833. He was the only governor of California that lived in San Diego.José Bandini, in a note to Governor Echeandía or t ...

Pío Pico Don Pío de Jesús Pico (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a Californio politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the last governor of California (present-day U.S. state of California) under Mexican rule. A member of ...

. In 1831 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 ...

reconfirmed the grant to Pío Pico. The grant extended from present day Jamul southeast to Dulzura.

History

Pío Pico was given a provisional grant of one square league Governor Victoria in 1831. His brother,

Andrés Pico Andrés Pico (November 18, 1810 – February 14, 1876) was a Californio who became a successful rancher, fought in the contested Battle of San Pascual during the Mexican–American War, and negotiated promises of post-war protections for Calif ...

, ran the rancho from 1836 to 1838. In 1837 the rancho was attacked by Indians, and the rancho abandoned. In 1851, Pico's brother-in-law, John Forster, claiming to be acting as Pico's agent, sold Rancho Jamul to Bonifacio Lopez,

Philip Crosthwaite Philip Crosthwaite (December 27, 1825 – February 19, 1903) was an early settler of San Diego, California, and Rosarito, Baja California. Early life Philip Crosthwaite was born 1825, in Athy, County Kildare, Ireland, to Edward and Rachel Crosth ...

(Lopez son-in-law), Richard Rust, and William E. Rust. However, it does not appear that anything was ever done in performance of the contract by anyone. But this was the cause latter of extensive litigation concerning ownership of Rancho Jamul. 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 two square leagues by Pío Pico for Rancho Jamul 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, but was rejected in 1855 on the grounds of insufficient documentation of the grant. Pico claimed his papers were lost in an Indian attack on the Rancho. While stationed in San Diego, Captain

Henry Stanton Burton Henry Stanton Burton (1818–1869) was a graduate of West Point, a career American Army officer who served in the Second Seminole War, Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. Early life Henry Stanton Burton was born in September 18 ...

(–1869) of the First Regiment of New York Volunteers and his new wife, María Amparo Ruiz (1833 –1895), occupied Rancho Jamul in 1854. According to an affidavit made by María Burton and filed in the United States district court in 1880, Burton purchased the interests of Lopez and Crosthwaite in 1853; and the interests of Richard and William E. Rust in 1854. In 1867, nearly twelve years after the claim had been rejected, an appearance was entered in the United States district court on behalf of General Burton. In 1870, María Burton arranged for Pío Pico to declare that he had sold all his interest to Burton. In 1875, Nellie Burton, a daughter of Henry Stanton Burton and María Burton, married Miguél de Pedrorena (1844–1882). In 1876, the grant for Rancho Jamul 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 the heirs of Henry S. Burton (María A. Burton, and her son, Henry H. Burton and daughter, Nellie Burton Pedrorena). The rancho was used as collateral for mortgages, and numerous claims were filed against the estate and the litigation continued for years. The estate of Henry S. Burton was not settled until 1891. The title changed hands repeatedly. María Burton and her son, Henry Burton, founded the Jamul Portland Cement Manufacturing Company in 1889 but went bankrupt in 1892.David C. Burkenroad, ''Jamul Cement: Speculation in the San Diego Hinterland'', Journal of San Diego History 25, Fall 1979 In 1915, John D. Spreckels sold to Rancho Jamul to

Louis J. Wilde Louis J. Wilde (July 16, 1865 – April 18, 1924) was an American banker and Republican politician from California. Wilde was born in Iowa City, Iowa in 1865. After living in Rochester, NY, Philadelphia, and St. Paul, Minnesota, he moved t ...

References

{{ California history Jamul Jamul East County (San Diego County) Jamul

History

See also

References