Rancho Caymus 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

Napa County, California Napa County () is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,019. The county seat is the City of Napa. Napa County was one of the original co ...

granted in 1836 by acting Governor

Nicolás Gutiérrez Lieutenant Colonel Nicolás Gutiérrez was twice Acting (law), acting governor of the northern part of The Californias, ''Las Californias'' (what had previously been Alta California) in 1836, from January to May and July to November. Gutiérr ...

George C. Yount George Calvert Yount (May 4, 1794 – October 5, 1865), later known by his Spanish name Don Jorge Concepción Yount, was a Californian ranchero, fur trapper, and entrepreneur. Born in North Carolina, he later emigrated to Alta California, whe ...

. Caymus was the name of a subgroup of Mishewal-Wappo Indians. The rancho was in the

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...

, and included present-day Yountville, Oakville and Rutherford, and the Napa Valley AVA wine region.

History

Through the influence of

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the trans ...

, George C. Yount received the two league Rancho Caymus in 1836, and became the first permanent Euro-American settler in the

. In 1843 he received the one league Rancho La Jota on Howell Mountain to the north of Rancho Caymus. 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 Caymus 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 Rancho Caymus 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 George C. Yount in 1863. A town known as Sebastopol was laid out on the property in 1855. However, the town of

Sebastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

in nearby

Sonoma County Sonoma County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 488,863. Its county seat and largest city is Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. It is to the n ...

had already laid claim to this name, and the town was renamed Yountville in 1867 after George Yount’s death. After George Yount’s death in 1865, the courts stepped in to sell the remaining portions of his property. Judge

Serranus Hastings Serranus Clinton Hastings (November 22, 1814 – February 18, 1893) was an American politician, rancher and lawyer in California. He studied law as a young man and moved to the Iowa District in 1837 to open a law office. Iowa became a territory ...

bought a large portion of the original Rancho Caymus. He later sold part of his property to Captain

Gustave Niebaum Gustave Ferdinand Niebaum (born Gustaf Ferdinand Nybom; 31 August 1842 – 5 August 1908) was a Finnish-American sea captain and winemaker. Niebaum acquired his maritime schooling in Helsinki, Finland. By the end of 1860s, he had become one of ...

and California State Senator Seneca Ewer.

Historic sites of the Rancho

* George Yount Blockhouse. In 1836 George C.Yount built a blockhouse and in 1837 erected an adobe home. * Grave of George C. Yount. Skilled hunter, frontiersman, craftsman, and farmer, George Calvert Yount (1794–1865) received the first Mexican land grant in Napa Valley.Grave of George C. Yount (California State Historical Landmark No. 693)

References

{{Napa County, California Caymus Caymus Napa Valley Yountville, California Caym

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References