Rancho Asuncion facts for kids
Rancho Asuncion was a very large piece of land in what is now San Luis Obispo County, California. It was about 39,225 acres big. This land was given out by the Mexican government in 1845. The person who received it was Pedro Estrada. The rancho stretched along the Salinas River and included the area where Atascadero is today. It was located in the Santa Lucia Range mountains.
Contents
History of Rancho Asuncion
Early Owners and Grants
Pedro Pascual Estrada (1822–1897) was born in Monterey. His father was José Raimundo Estrada, and his mother was Josefa Vallejo de Alvarado. In 1845, Pedro Estrada received the land for Rancho Asuncion. This land had once been part of the Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.
Pedro's brother, Joaquín Tomas Estrada, also received a nearby land grant. His rancho was called Rancho Santa Margarita. He got his land in 1841, a few years before Pedro received Rancho Asuncion.
Changes After the Mexican-American War
After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. This happened in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty said that the United States would respect the land grants given by Mexico.
To make sure these land claims were official, the U.S. government created a new law. This was the Land Act of 1851. It required people to prove they owned their land. Pedro Estrada filed a claim for Rancho Asuncion in 1853. The government officially recognized his ownership in 1866. This process is called getting a land patent.
New Owners and Ranch Operations
In 1861, Pedro Estrada sold Rancho Asuncion. The new owners were Martin Murphy Jr. (1807–1884) and his wife, Mary Bulger Murphy (d.1892). They were from Sunnyvale. The Murphys had traveled to California in 1844.
The Murphys' son, Patrick Murphy, took over running the rancho. Patrick Washington Murphy (1840–1901) was a General in the California National Guard. He managed Rancho Asuncion, along with two other large ranchos. These were Rancho Atascadero and Rancho Santa Margarita. Together, these lands covered about 61,000 acres. Patrick Murphy ran all these ranchos from his headquarters at Rancho Santa Margarita.
