Rancho Pescadero was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Joaquin County, California and

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. ...

given in 1843 by Governor

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general of the Mexican Army, adjutant-general of the same, governor, commandant-general and inspector of the department of Las Californias, t ...

Antonio María Pico Don Antonio María Pico was a Californio politician, ranchero, and a signer of the California Constitution in 1849. He also served twice as Alcalde of San José. Biography Antonio María Pico, a member of the prominent Pico family of California ...

. Pescadero means "the fishery" or "the place to fish" in Spanish. The grant encompassed present-day Tracy.

History

Antonio María Pico (1809–1869) was a member of the

Pico family of California The Pico family is a prominent Californio family of Southern California. Members of the family held extensive rancho grants and numerous important positions, including Governor of Alta California, signer of the Constitution of California, and C ...

(a prominent

Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sin ...

family), son of José Dolores Pico, and was stationed in the

Pueblo of San José San Jose, California, is the third largest city in the state, and the largest of all cities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, with a population of 1,021,795. Site chosen by Anza For thousands of years before the arrival of E ...

in 1833–1839. His brother, José de Jesús Pico, was the grantee of

Rancho Piedra Blanca Rancho Piedra Blanca was a large, Mexican land grant in present-day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José de Jesús Pico. The name means "white rock" and refers to rocks painted white by its bird ...

. Another brother was the bandit

Salomon Pico Salomon may refer to: People * Salomon (given name) * Salomon (surname) Companies * Salomon Brothers Salomon Brothers, Inc., was an American multinational bulge bracket investment bank headquartered in New York. It was one of the five la ...

. Antonio María Pico married Maria del Pilar Bernal (1812–1882) in 1831. He was

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) ...

at San Jose. Pico sold his one fourth share of Rancho Valle de San José to Juan Pablo Bernal. Pico received the eight square league Rancho Pescadero grant in 1843. He took part in the revolt against Governor Micheltorena in 1845, and was a member of the

1849 California Constitutional Convention The California Constitutional Conventions were two separate constitutional conventions that took place in California during the nineteenth century which led to the creation of the modern Constitution of California. The first, known as the 1849 ...

. Antonio María Pico sold half the property to

Henry Morris Naglee Henry Morris Naglee (January 15, 1815 – March 5, 1886) was a civil engineer, banker, vintner, and a Union General in the American Civil War. Life and career Naglee was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 15, 1815. He graduated from ...

(1815–1886) in 1849. 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 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% of Mexica ...

, 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 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 ...

in 1852. The claim was rejected by the Commission in 1854, on the grounds that failed grantees failed to perform. But grant was confirmed by the US District Court in 1856, and by the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

; 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 Antonio María Pico and Henry Morris Naglee in 1865. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
Antonio María Pico sold his half the property to

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

in 1852. The grant was soon occupied by squatters and Frémont sold it in 1867 to Charles McLaughlin, who owned the adjacent Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros.

References

{{California history Pescadero (Pico) Pescadero Pescadero Pescadero