Rancho Pescadero 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
Stanislaus County and
San Joaquin County, California
San Joaquin County (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''San Joaquín'', meaning "Joachim, St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 20 ...
given in 1843 by Governor
Manuel Micheltorena to Valentin Higuera and Rafael Feliz. Pescadero means "fishing place" in Spanish. The grant extended along the west bank of the
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...
from about
Banta
Banta Soda, or Banta, also Goli Soda or Goti Soda and Fotash Jawl, is a popular carbonated lemon or orange-flavoured soft drink sold in India since the late 19th century in a distinctly shaped iconic Codd-neck bottle. The pressure created by ...
on the north to
Del Puerto Creek and
Rancho Del Puerto on the south, and encompassed present-day
Grayson.
History
Valentin Higuera and Rafael Feliz were granted the eight square league Rancho Pescadero in 1843. Valentin Higuera (1809-) was the son of José Loreto Higuera, grantee of
Rancho Los Tularcitos
Rancho Los Tularcitos was a Spanish land concession in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1821 to José Loreto Higuera by the last Spanish governor of Alta California, Pablo Vicente de Solá. The land grant was confirmed by Mex ...
In 1829, Valentin Higuera married Maria Margarita Sais (also spelled Saens or Saez) (1811-1850). Valentin's brother, Fulgencio Higuera, was the grantee of
Rancho Agua Caliente. In 1845, Fulgencio Higuera married Maria Celia Feliz. Antonio Rafael Feliz (1789-1850) was born in Los Angeles and died in
San Jose.
Higuera sold the rancho to Hiram Grimes, Francis W. Grimes and William H. McKee in 1849. Hiram Grimes was nephew of Captain Eliab Grimes, grantee of
Rancho Del Paso
Rancho Del Paso was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Sacramento County, California, In 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena, Captain John Sutter’s old friend, gave 44,000 acres to Elijah Grimes. Grimes called it the Ran ...
. Hiram Grimes also owned
Rancho San Juan Rancho San Juan was a Mexican land grant in present-day Sacramento County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Joel P. Dedmond. The grant extended east of Captain Eliab Grimes Rancho Del Paso along the north bank of t ...
.
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 Pescadero 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 Hiram Grimes, Francis W. Grimes and William H. McKee in 1858.
Historic sites of the Rancho
*Site of
San Joaquin City. A river-streamer stopping town was established in 1849, which was replaced by Vernalis in 1888 with the coming of the Southern Pacific Railroad.
Site of San Joaquin City (No. 777)
/ref>
References
{{California history
Pescadero (Grimes)
Ranchos of San Joaquin County, California
Ranchos of Stanislaus County, California
San Joaquin Valley
El Camino Viejo