Rancho Napa 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
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 ...
given in 1838 by Governor
Juan Alvarado to
Salvador Vallejo. The grant extends along the Napa Valley, north of present-day
Napa.
History
Jose Manuel Salvador Vallejo (1813 - 1876) was the younger brother of General
Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. He was Captain of militia at
Sonoma and married Maria de la Cruz Carrillo. In 1839 Governor Alvarado granted to Salvador Vallejo an additional grant known as ''Salvador's Ranch''.
Unlike most Mexican land grants in California that remained intact at the end of the Mexican era, Rancho Napa was subdivided. Salvador Vallejo subdivided and sold much of the land in 1847 (during 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% ...
and before the transfer of California to the United States), retaining for himself. There were claims 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 for 26 tracts (Land Cases 66 ND, 67 ND, 71 ND, 76 ND, 78 ND, 79 ND, 109 ND, 110 ND, 111 ND, 112 ND, 114 ND, 116 ND, 117 ND, 118 ND, 120 ND, 122 ND, 123 ND, 139 ND, 141 ND, 146 ND, 149 ND, 169 ND, 225 ND, 261 ND, 313 ND, and 393 ND) of Rancho Napa and 4 tracts (Land Cases 212 ND, 241 ND, 249 ND, and 249 ND) of Salvador's Rancho.
United States. District Court (California : Northern District)
/ref>
In 1863 Salvador Vallejo was a Major in the Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
, and after the Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, he resigned and returned to his ranch in Napa in 1865, and died in 1876.
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
{{Napa County, California
Napa
Napa
Napa Valley
Napa