Rancho La Sierra (Yorba)
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Rancho La Sierra (also called La Sierra de Santa Ana) 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
Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...
, United States. In 1846 governor
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 ...
issued the grant to
Bernardo Yorba Bernardo Yorba (August 20, 1800 – November 28, 1858), was a prominent Californio landowner, public figure, and one of the wealthiest men in early 19th-century California. Yorba also served as alcalde (mayor) of Santa Ana. The city of Yorba ...
. The grant lay between
Rancho Jurupa Rancho Jurupa was a Mexican land grant in California, United States, that is divided by the present-day counties of Riverside and San Bernardino. The land was granted to Juan Bandini by Governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1838. Located along both ba ...
and Rancho El Rincon, and included the present-day city of
Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
.


History

Bernardo Yorba's father, José Antonio Yorba, was the grantee of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana in present-day
Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...
. For years Bernardo (1800–1858) and his brothers pastured animals on lands east of their father's rancho, and in 1834 Bernardo requested, and was granted,
Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana Rancho Cañón de Santa Ana was a land grant in present-day Orange County, California given by Mexican governor José Figueroa in 1834 to Bernardo Yorba. The name means "Canyon of Santa Ana". The grant included present-day Yorba Linda. Histor ...
. Bernardo and his brother Tomas (1787–1845) continued to pasture heards even further east, in an area they had named ''La Sierra''. In 1845, after his brother Tomas had died, Bernardo applied for four square leagues of the La Sierra lands. Nine days later Maria Vicenta Sepulveda, the widow of Bernardo's brother Tomas, also applied for some of the same La Sierra lands. On June 15, 1846 Governor Pio Pico granted the west half of the lands, Rancho La Sierra (Yorba), to Bernado Yorba, and the east half,
Rancho La Sierra (Sepulveda) Rancho La Sierra (also called "La Sierra de Santa Ana") was a Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California, United States. In 1846 Governor Pio Pico issued the grant to Vicenta Sepulveda. The rancho includes the present-day ci ...
, to Vicente Sepulveda. 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 La Sierra (Yorba) 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 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 Bernardo Yorba in 1875. When the state of California was admitted into the Union in 1850 Rancho La Sierra became part of
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...
, but by the time the US patent was filed, Rancho La Sierra was a part of
San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
. In 1893, the Rancho became part of Riverside County when the California Legislature authorized the formation of Riverside County taking lands from both San Bernardino County and
San Diego County 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 ...
. R.B. Taylor, George L. Joy, Samuel Merrill, A. S. Garretson, and Adolph Rimpau, a citrus growers' organization, purchased Rancho La Sierra of Bernardo Yorba, and the
Rancho Temescal Rancho Temescal was a Mexican land grant in present-day Ventura County and Los Angeles County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Francisco Lopez and José Arellanes. The word “temescal” is Spanish for "sweat bath ...
grant of Leandro Serrano in 1886. The colony was laid out as South Riverside, and in 1896 renamed Corona (Spanish: "Crown") for a 3-mile (5-km) circular drive that is now around the central city and was the site of international automobile races from 1913 to 1916. Bernardo Yorba expanded his lands further when he purchased Rancho El Rincon from
Juan Bandini Juan Bandini (1800 – November 4, 1859) was a Peruvian-born Californio public figure, politician, and ranchero. He is best known for his role in the development of San Diego in the mid-19th century. Early history Bandini was born in 1800 in Lima ...
.


Etymology

Translated from Spanish into English, ''"La Sierra de Santa Ana"'' means ''"The mountains of Santa Ana"''. According to Bernardo's petition for the La Sierra lands, the Yorba brothers had used this name as early as 1825. The name distinguished the higher elevation ''La Sierra de Santa Ana'' lands from Bernardo's ''Cañón de Santa Ana'' lands, both positioned beside the
Santa Ana River The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California in the United States. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows for most of its length through San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, before cutting through ...
.


Historic sites

* Corona Founders Monument – Taylor, Joy, Merrill, Garretson, and Rimpau, having purchased Rancho La Sierra of Bernardo Yorba and Rancho Temescal of Leandro Serrano on May 4, 1886, founded the citrus colony and town of Corona.Corona Founders Monument (California Historical Landmark No. 738)
/ref>


See also

*
Ranchos of California 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 ...
*
List of Ranchos of California These California land grants were made by Spanish (1784–1821) and Mexican (1822–1846) authorities of Las Californias and Alta California to private individuals before California became part of the United States of America.Shumway, Burgess M ...


References

;Citations ;Works cited * * {{California history Sierra (Yorba) Sierra (Yorba) Geography of Corona, California History of Corona, California