Rancho Agua Hedionda facts for kids
Rancho Agua Hedionda was a very large piece of land, about 13,311 acres (53.87 square kilometers), in what is now San Diego County, California. In 1842, the Mexican government gave this land as a special gift, called a Mexican land grant, to Juan María Marrón. The name "Agua Hedionda" means "stinking water" in Spanish. This land stretched along the Pacific Coast from where Carlsbad is today, down to Leucadia. It also completely surrounded the Agua Hedionda Lagoon.
Contents
History of Rancho Agua Hedionda
Juan María Romouldo Marrón (born in 1808, died in 1853) was an important person in San Diego in the early 1820s. He married Felipa Osuna, whose father, Juan María Osuna, was the first "alcalde" (which means mayor or local judge) of the town of San Diego. Her father also owned another big ranch called Rancho San Dieguito.
The Rancho Grant
Juan María Marrón received the grant for Rancho Agua Hedionda in 1842. During the Mexican–American War, which happened from 1846 to 1848, Marrón supported the Americans. This caused some problems for him with his Mexican friends. His son, Sylvester, married Leonora Osuna, and his daughter, María Luz, married José María Estudillo.
Rancho Under New Rule
After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo said that the land grants given by Mexico would still be valid. Because of a law called the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Agua Hedionda was filed in 1852. The ownership of the land was officially confirmed to Juan María Marrón in 1872.
Juan Marrón passed away in 1853, and he left Rancho Agua Hedionda to his wife and children. In 1860, his family leased the rancho to a man named Francis Hinton.
New Owners of the Rancho
Francis J. Hinton (born in 1818, died in 1870) came to California with the U.S. Army after the Mexican-American War. In 1860, he bought Rancho Agua Hedionda from the Marrón family. Hinton was a bachelor, and when he died in 1870, he left the rancho to his manager, Robert Kelly.
Robert Kelly (born in 1825, died in 1890) was from the Isle of Man. He came to the United States in 1841 and arrived in San Diego in 1851. He had been a partner in another rancho called Rancho Jamacha. After selling his share of Rancho Jamacha in 1858, Kelly worked as a merchant in San Diego. In 1860, he bought Rancho Agua Hedionda. Kelly was also a bachelor, and when he died in 1890, he left Rancho Agua Hedionda to the nine children of his older brother, Matthew Kelly.
Historic Sites of the Rancho
- Marron Adobe: This was an adobe building constructed by the Marron family on the rancho.
