Isaac Graham (April 15, 1800 – November 8, 1863) was a fur trader,

mountain man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

, and land grant owner in 19th century

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. In 1830, he joined a hunting and trapping party at

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

that included George Nidever. Graham attended the Rendezvous at Pierre's Hole and took part in the battle of Pierre's Hole, in present-day

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

. From there, Graham's path to California is unclear. He may have joined Joseph R. Walker's party, or joined one of the groups led by Ewing Young. His son later claimed that Graham came by way of Oregon, while his daughter said he took a southern route through Chihuahua. The next positive evidence finds him at Natividad on the Rancho La Natividad, northeast of present-day Salinas, in Mexican

Alta California Alta California (, ), also known as Nueva California () among other names, was a province of New Spain formally established in 1804. Along with the Baja California peninsula, it had previously comprised the province of , but was made a separat ...

. With partners Henry Naile and William Ware, Graham established a distillery to supplement declining incomes from fur trading, owing to dwindling numbers of sea otters from the Central Coast.

The Graham Affair

In 1836 Graham led a group of American and European immigrants who supported Juan Bautista Alvarado and

José Castro José Antonio Castro (1808 – February 1860) was a Californio politician, statesman, and general who served as interim Governor of Alta California and later Governor of Baja California. During the Bear Flag Revolt and the American Conque ...

in the coup against Mexican Governor of Northern

Nicolás Gutiérrez Lieutenant Colonel Nicolás Gutiérrez was twice acting governor of the northern part of ''Las Californias'' (what had previously been Alta California) in 1836, from January to May and July to November. Gutiérrez served two short terms as ...

. In 1840 Alvarado had Graham arrested, among a group of about 100 foreigners, and sent to

Tepic Tepic () is the capital and largest city of the western Mexico, Mexican Political divisions of Mexico, state of Nayarit, as well as the seat of the Tepic Municipality. Located in the central part of the state, it stands at an altitude of above ...

, Mexico for trial and imprisonment. This action led to a diplomatic crisis (involving Mexico, the United States and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) that became known as the "Graham Affair". With the help of a recent arrival in

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

, Thomas J. Farnham, Graham and the others were eventually released, Graham having been imprisoned for about a year. Farnham later wrote a romanticized account of these events. Some credited the incident with assisting in the formation of an American political justification for Washington's eventual annexation of California.

Santa Cruz region

In 1841, upon his return from Mexico, Graham moved north to the Santa Cruz area, where he established another distillery at Rancho Zayante, near the present-day community of Felton. With help from Danish-immigrant Peter Lassen, Graham built one of the first water-powered sawmills in California. Part of Graham Hill Road, now a major route between Felton and Santa Cruz, was built by Graham to transport his timber to the coast for shipment. Although not a Mexican citizen, Graham was able to purchase the Rancho Zayante land by proxy through his fellow frontiersman Joseph Majors, owner of the adjacent Rancho San Agustin. Other former mountain men and Graham associates were also at Zayante, including Job Francis Dye, who later dictated a memoir including some adventures he shared with Graham. Early in 1846, a U.S. Army exploring mission led by

John C. Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

stopped at Graham's Zayante community. Mexican authorities feared that Fremont's hidden purpose was to stir up anti-government sentiments among the Americans there, and Fremont was soon forced to leave California for Oregon. He returned later in the year, after the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

began, to recruit volunteers for the

California Battalion The California Battalion (also called the first California Volunteer Militia and U.S. Mounted Rifles) was formed during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) in present-day California, United States. It was led by U.S. Army Brevet (military) ...

. Graham himself, at age 46, did not volunteer. In 1851, Graham purchased Rancho Punta del Año Nuevo, on the coast north of Santa Cruz. Isaac Graham died in 1863, and is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Santa Cruz. Part of Graham's former lands are now the community of Felton, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Isaac Foreign residents of Mexican California Ranchers from California Mountain men 1800 births 1863 deaths American emigrants to Mexico History of Santa Cruz County, California History of the Monterey Bay Area People from Santa Cruz County, California