Rancho Suscol was an

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

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

Napa County, California Napa County () is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,019. The county seat is the City of Napa. Napa County was one of the original co ...

, and

Solano County, California Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield. Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is ...

, given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to 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 ...

. In a significant land law decision, the land claim was rejected by the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

in 1862. Rancho Suscol extended from

Rancho Petaluma :''This article refers to the land grant. For the Rancho Petaluma Adobe, see Rancho Petaluma Adobe'' Rancho Petaluma was a Mexican land grant in present-day Sonoma County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Mariano Guadalup ...

on the west, south down to the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...

and

Mare Island Mare Island (Spanish: ''Isla de la Yegua'') is a peninsula in the United States in the city of Vallejo, California, about northeast of San Francisco. The Napa River forms its eastern side as it enters the Carquinez Strait juncture with the eas ...

and

Carquinez Strait The Carquinez Strait (; Spanish: ''Estrecho de Carquinez'') is a narrow tidal strait in Northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay. The strait is lo ...

, and then to Rancho Suisun on the east. It included present day cities of Vallejo and Benicia.

History

In 1835, the Mexican Government gave Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo control of some newly secularized land. The Rancho Nacional Suscol was a national ranch under his control, heavily stocked with cattle and horses. Aiding Vallejo in various battles in exchange for cattle and other goods,

Patwin The Patwin (also Patween, Southern Wintu) are a band of Wintun people native to the area of Northern California. The Patwin comprise the southern branch of the Wintun group, native inhabitants of California since approximately 500 AD. The Patwi ...

populated this land living along the banks of Suscol Creek. In March, 1843 Vallejo paid the government $5,000 for the support of the governor's troops and in return he was granted the 18 leagues Rancho Suscol by Mexican governor Micheltorena. Vallejo also received a confirming document (later considered to be a forgery by the

) signed by

Pio Pico Pio may refer to: Places * Pio Lake, Italy * Pio Island, Solomon Islands * Pio Point, Bird Island, south Atlantic Ocean People * Pio (given name) * Pio (surname) * Pio (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer * Pio (footballer, born 1988), B ...

in 1845. 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 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 ...

, 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 Suscol 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. The land grant was confirmed by the Land Commission and on appeal by the District Court, but rejected by the US Supreme Court in 1862 on want of authority in the Mexican government to make it. As the grant was rejected, there is no official area of the grant. The grant was for approximately 18 square leagues, and the area discussed in the Supreme Court documents is . Vallejo sold Rancho Suscol to his son-in-law, John B. Frisbie, who was married to Vallejo's oldest daughter, Epifania, (also known as Fannie). Frisbie sold portions of the tract to San Francisco investors who were primarily interested in speculating on the growth of Benicia, Vallejo and the

Mare Island Naval Shipyard The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...

. When the grant was rejected, the land immediately became public domain under the California Land Act of 1851, and available for homesteaders. Within a year more than 250 people claimed plots in accordance with federal homestead law.

The Suscol Act

When the Supreme Court rejected the claim in 1862, Frisbie tried to persuade

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

to pass a law allowing claimants under a rejected grant to pre-empt their property at $1.25 per acre - without limitation regarding acreage. Under the Pre-emption Act of 1841, owners were allowed to "pre-empt" their portions of the grant, and acquire title for $1.25 an acre - up to a maximum of . Although Frisbie failed to get the legislation through Congress in 1862, he was successful a year later (the new version of the legislation applied only to landholders within the boundaries of Rancho Suscol), and the Suscol Act became law in 1863. However the intervening years gave the homesteaders time to establish their claims based on the Pre-emption Act of 1841. Some minor violence occurred, but both sides turned to the courts. Homesteader Whitney filed a lawsuit to compel Frisbie to convey the disputed land to him. The Supreme Court ruled for Frisbie, and the homesteaders were evicted.Gordon Morris Bakken, 2000, ''Law in the western United States'',University of Oklahoma Press,

References

{{California history Suscol Suscol Suscol 1843 establishments in Mexico