Rancho Cañada de los Coches was a

Mexican land grant In Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California, ranchos were concessions and land grants made by the Spanish and Mexican governments from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an indu ...

in present-day

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...

, given in 1843 by Governor

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general and adjutant-general of the Mexican Army, List_of_governors_of_California_before_1850#Mexican_governors_of_California_(1837–47), gover ...

to Apolinaria Lorenzana. This small land grant was located just west of Flinn Springs and in the center of Rancho El Cajon. The San Diego Mission fathers formerly watered their swine in dry seasons at a little spring arising from subterranean sources, thus giving it its name of "Glen of the Hogs". The site is now registered as

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

#425.

History

Apolinaria Lorenzana (1790–1884) came to California with her mother in 1800. When her mother returned to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, Apolinaria moved to San Diego, under the care of Raymundo Carrillo. Apolinaria Lorenzana remained a single woman devoted to the church. As a result of her religious devotion, she was called "La Beata", meaning "the pious one". Because of her devotion to the church the Padres at the San Diego Mission attempted to save some of the lands of the church from the

secularization In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

of its lands by giving her certificates for them as their owner in 1833–34. These were Cañada de los Coches,

Rancho Jamacha Rancho Jamacha was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Diego County, California, given in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Apolinaria Lorenzana. Jamacha is an Indian name. The grant extended eastward from Rancho de la Nación along the Sw ...

and Rancho San Juan de Las Secuas. Lorenzana sold Rancho San Juan de Las Secuas to Juan Bautista López who solicited a grant for the land in 1836. She obtained grants for Jamacha in 1840 and Los Coches in 1843. Lorenzana continued to live at the San Diego Mission but hired majordomos to run her ranches and she would stay there occasionally. Following a further decline in the Mission, Lorenzana moved to

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (also known colloquially as San Juan or SJC) is a city in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 35,253 at the 2020 Census. Named for Saint John of Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano was founded ...

in 1846. Lorenzana sold her Rancho Canada de los Coches to Anacleto Lestrade, a native of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and a priest at the San Gabriel Mission 1851 -56. Lestrade was also the claimant for

Rancho Rosa Castilla Rancho Rosa Castilla was a Mexican land grant in the southwestern San Rafael Hills, in present day Los Angeles County, California, given to Juan Ballesteros in 1831 by Governor Manuel Victoria. It included present day Rose Hills, Lincoln Hei ...

. 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 jurisdicti ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim 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 the California State Lands Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican l ...

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 ...

to Anacleto Lestrada in 1873. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada de los Coches Ranchos of San Diego County, California Rancho Canada de los Coches Rancho Canada de los Coches

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Stagecoach stops in the United States