Rancho Punta de Laguna was a
Mexican land grant in present day northern
Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria.
Santa Barba ...
, and southern
San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo.
Junípero Serra founded the Mis ...
given in 1844 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 ...
to Luis Arellanes and Emigdio Miguel Ortega. The name of this rancho means "point of the lagoon" and refers to the irregular lake lying within its territory. The grant is east of
Rancho Guadalupe and encompasses present day
Santa Maria and
Betteravia.
History
Luis Arellanes and Emigdio Miguel Ortega were granted the six square league Rancho Punta de Laguna in 1844. Emigdio Miguel Ortega (1813–1893), son of Juan Capistrano Martin Ortega (1776–1818) and Maria Rafela Arellanes (1790-), married Maria Concepcion Jacinta Dominguez (1817–) in 1836.
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 Punta de Laguna 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, 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 Luis Arellanes and Emigdio Miguel Ortega in 1873.
Rancho Punta de Laguna shared a common border Rancho Guadalupe, but a combination of vague definition and government errors produced three different surveys and two patents and lengthy litigation. A third survey pushed the boundary with Rancho Punta de Laguna east. However, the boundary of Rancho Punta de Laguna, was fixed by its patented in 1873. After seven more years of litigation, in 1880 the US confirmed the owners of Rancho Guadalupe, leaving the owners of Rancho Punta de Laguna short. The Rancho Punta de Laguna owners then turned to the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
. In 1890, Congress gave the Rancho Punta de Laguna owners rights to unoccupied California land equal to what they had lost.
[Paul Wallace Gates, 2002,''Land and Law in California: Essays on Land Policies'', Purdue University Press (September 1, 2002), ]
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
External links
Ranchos of Santa Barbara County Map
{{California history
Punta de Laguna
Punta de Laguna
Punta de Laguna
Santa Maria, California