Rancho Nicasio 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 ...

of granted to the

Coast Miwok Coast Miwok are an indigenous people that was the second-largest group of Miwok people. Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golden Gate north to Duncans Poi ...

indigenous people in 1835, located in the present-day Marin County, California, a tract of land that stretched from San Geronimo to

Tomales Bay Tomales Bay is a long, narrow inlet of the Pacific Ocean in Marin County in northern California in the United States. It is approximately long and averages nearly wide, effectively separating the Point Reyes Peninsula from the mainland of Mar ...

. Today,

Nicasio, California Nicasio ( ; Spanish for " Nicasius") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. It is located west-southwest of Novato, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 census the CDP population w ...

is at the heart of this location.

History

In the mid-1830s, lands were promised by General Mariano Vallejo to the San Rafael Indians, whose land had been co-opted by the

Mission San Rafael Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. When asked what land they wanted, the

chiefs chose ranging from Nicasio Valley to the area surrounding Tomales. The land was granted by Mexican Governor

José Figueroa José Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835), was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. He wrote the first book to be published in California. Background and governorship Figueroa was a Mestizo of Spanish ...

to the Coast Miwok of Marin County in 1835, but the Miwok claim was rejected by the Public Land Commission in 1855. In 1844, Governor Manuel Micheltorena granted the Rancho Nicasio to Pablo de la Guerra and John B.R. Cooper. By 1849, there were three owners — Pablo de la Guerra, Cooper, and Jasper O’Farrell. In 1850 Pablo de la Guerra sold his undivided share of the ranch to

Henry Wager Halleck Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a senior United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory: "Old Brains". He was an important par ...

. Halleck had arrived in California in 1847 as a lieutenant in the United States Engineers, accompanied by his friend, Lt. William Tecumseh Sherman. Halleck was a partner in the San Francisco law firm, Halleck, Peachy & Billings, and in the Civil War was promoted by

President Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

to general-in-chief of the armies of the United States. Halleck hunted and fished at Rancho Nicasio, and built a house on the creek near Nicasio, now called Halleck Creek. In 1850, Cooper sold his undivided share of the ranch to Benjamin Rush Buckelew. Besides Cooper’s share of Rancho Nicasio, Buckelew also purchased Cooper’s

Rancho Punta de Quentin Rancho Punta de Quentin was a Mexican land grant in present-day Marin County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to John B.R. Cooper. The grant comprised not only the San Quentin peninsula, but also present-day Ross, Kent ...

and John Reed’s

Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to John (Juan) Reed. Corte Madera del Presidio means the "lumber mill of the Presidio". The grant enco ...

. In 1851, O’Farrell sold his share to James Black, the grantee of

Rancho Cañada de Jonive Rancho Cañada de Jonive was a Mexican land grant in present day Sonoma County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to James Black. The grant encompassed the town of Freestone. History At the direction of Governor José Figueroa in ...

. In 1852 Buckelew sold to William Reynolds and Daniel Frink. 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 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 Nicasio was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant

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 Black, Buckelew, Halleck, and Reynolds and Frink in 1870. A separate claim was filed by

Juan Bautista Alvarado Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (February 14, 1809 – July 13, 1882) was a Californio politician that served as Governor of Alta California from 1837-42. Prior to his term as governor, Alvarado briefly led a movement for independe ...

in 1853, but was rejected due to lack of evidence. Black later bought Halleck’s share of Rancho Nicasio. Black also bought

Rancho Olompali 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 ...

from

Camilo Ynitia Camilo Ynitia (alternative spelling "Camillo"; original native name transliterated as "Hueñux") was born in 1803, in Marin County, southern Marin, of the Huiman tribe near Sausalito. They likely traveled up to Olompali, where his father had buil ...

, the last Olompali Indian chief, in 1852. Black's daughter, Mary, married Dr. Galen Burdell. Black's wife, Maria Agustina Sais, died in Dr. Burdell's dental chair in 1864. In 1866 Black married Maria Loreto Duarte, Ygnacio Pacheco’s widow. James Black died in 1870. The Settlement of Nicasio: James Black

References

* Jane Futcher (text) and Robert Conover (photographs). 1983. ''Marin: The Place, the People, Profile of a California County''. Holt, Rinehart and Winston * Hoover, Mildred Brooke, Douglas E. Kyle, and Hero Rensch. 2002. ''Historic spots in California'', Fifth edition, Stanford University Press. . * Miller, George. 2000. ''Additional Views, 106th Congress Report: House of Representatives'', 2d Session, 106-677, ''Graton Rancheria Restoration Act'

* Papina, Anne M. 2008. ''Nicasio'' (Arcadia Publishing, 2008

h2>

Notes

{{coord , 38.080, -122.700, region:US-CA_type:landmark, display=title California ranchos, Nicasio

Nicasio Nicasio ( ; Spanish for " Nicasius") is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. It is located west-southwest of Novato, at an elevation of . As of the 2020 census the CDP population w ...

West Marin

History

See also

References