Rancho Llano Seco 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

Butte County, California Butte County () is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County comprises the Chico, CA metropolitan statistical area. It is ...

, given in 1845 by Mexican 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 1 ...

to Sebastian Keyser (Kayser). means 'dry plains' in Spanish. The grant extended along the east bank of the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento� ...

south of present-day Chico. It remains an active ranch.

History

The four–square league grant, provisionally made in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena, was confirmed in 1845 by Governor Pico. Keyser, born in Austria, was a trapper who had accompanied

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Swiss immigrant of Mexican and American citizenship, known for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area th ...

in 1838 from Missouri, through New Mexico to California. Keyser went to Oregon but returned in 1841 to work for Sutter at his

Rancho New Helvetia Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California **List of California Ranchos *Ranchos, Buenos Ai ...

. In 1845, Keyser became owner of a half interest in Rancho Johnson. He settled on the Bear River and married Elizabeth Rhoads, later selling his interest in the ranch over to

Charles James Brenham Charles James Brenham (November 6, 1817 – May 10, 1876) was an American politician, banker, and steamboat captain. He served as the 2nd mayor of San Francisco in 1851, and again as the 4th mayor of San Francisco from 1852 until 1853. Early ...

in 1849. Keyser then operated a ferry on the

Cosumnes River The Cosumnes River is a river in northern California in the United States. It rises on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and flows approximately into the Central Valley, emptying into the Mokelumne River in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Del ...

, where he drowned in 1850. With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, 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 Llano Seco was filed with the Public Land Commission 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 Brenham in 1860. Between 1860 and 1875, John Parrott acquired all of Rancho Llano Seco. John Parrott (-1884), a native of Tennessee, joined his brother's mercantile and importing business in Mexico. He was appointed United States Consul at

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding '' municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip ...

from 1837 to 1846, getting reappointed to the position in 1848 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 ...

until his resignation and move to San Francisco in 1850. Parrot and Company, of San Francisco was a major landholder and banking firm. In 1852, he built one of San Francisco's first large buildings, the Parrott Block. In 1853, he married Abbie Eastman Meagher (1829–1917). In 1862, he bought part of

Rancho de las Pulgas Rancho de las Pulgas was a 1795 Spanish land grant in present-day San Mateo County, California to José Darío Argüello. The literal translation is "Ranch of the Fleas", probably named after a village of the local Lamchin people. The grant wa ...

, and six years later he built his Baywood residence and estate. Rancho Llano Seco is still owned by the descendants of John and Abbie Parrott.

References

External links

* {{California history Llano Seco Ranchos of Butte County, California