Rancho Saucos 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

Tehama County, California Tehama County ( ; Wintun for "high water") is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,829. The county seat and largest city is Red Bluff. Tehama County comprises the ...

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, then ...

to Robert H. Thomes. The name means "Ranch of the Elder trees". The grant extended along the west side of the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–S ...

from Elder Creek and

Rancho Las Flores Rancho Las Flores was a Mexican land grant in present-day Tehama County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to William Chard. The name means "ranch of the flowers". The grant was on the west side of the Sacramento River an ...

on the north to Thomes Creek on the south, and encompassed present-day Tehama.

History

Robert Hasty Thomes (1817–1878), was born in

Cumberland County, Maine Cumberland County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the population was 303,069, making it the most populous county in Maine. Its county seat is Portland. Cumberland County was founded in 1760 from a portion of Yor ...

and came to California in 1841 with the Bartleson-Bidwell Party. Thomes and Albert G. Toomes became partners in a carpentry business in

Monterey Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...

. They built a house in Monterey for Governor pro tem Manuel Jimeno. Thomes arrived in the Tehama area in the company of Albert G. Toomes (

Rancho Rio de los Molinos Rancho Rio de los Molinos was a Mexican land grant in present-day Tehama County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Albert Gallatin Toomes. "Rio de los Molinos" means "River of the Mills". The long narrow grant exten ...

William Chard William George Chard (1812 - September 19, 1877) was a California pioneer. Life William George Chard was born in Columbia County, New York in 1812. He came to California via New Mexico with trappers Cyrus Alexander and Lemuel Carpenter, arrivin ...

(

), and Job Francis Dye (

Rancho Primer Cañon o Rio de Los Berrendos Rancho Primer Cañon o Rio de Los Berrendos was a Mexican land grant in present day Tehama County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Job Francis Dye. Rio de Los Berrendos means River of the Antelopes. The grant was on t ...

). Thomes five square league grant was directly across the Sacramento River from the five square league Rancho Rio de los Molinos grant of Toomes. In 1850, Thomes mapped out on the land grant what would become the city of Tehama. It was the last stop for the riverboats for a few years, and the first county seat. When the boats started going further up the river, Red Bluff became the center of trade and the county seat. 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 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% ...

, 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 Saucos 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 la ...

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 Robert H. Thomes in 1857. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
Thomes died in Tehama March 26,1878, unmarried.

References

{{California history, state=collapsed Saucos Saucos Sacramento River Saucos