Rancho Boca de Santa Monica facts for kids

Rancho Boca de Santa Monica was a large piece of land, about 6,656 acres (26.94 km²), in what is now Los Angeles County, California. It was a special gift of land from the Mexican government, called a Mexican land grant. In 1839, the governor at the time, Juan Alvarado, gave this land to two people: Ysidro Reyes and Francisco Marquez. The name "Boca de Santa Monica" means "mouth of Santa Monica."

The Story of Rancho Boca de Santa Monica

How the Rancho Began

In 1839, Ysidro Reyes and Francisco Marquez were officially given the Rancho Boca de Santa Monica. This huge area included what we now know as Santa Monica Canyon, the beautiful Pacific Palisades, and parts of Topanga Canyon.

Francisco Marquez and his wife, Roque Valenzuela, built a special house made of adobe (a type of mud brick) on a high part of the canyon. Francisco also had a blacksmith shop. He lived and worked on the rancho until he passed away in 1850.

Changes After the Mexican-American War

After the Mexican–American War ended in 1848, California became part of the United States. A peace agreement called the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo said that the land grants given by Mexico would still be honored.

To make sure their land was officially recognized by the U.S. government, Ysidro Reyes and Francisco Marquez filed a claim for Rancho Boca de Santa Monica in 1852. This was required by a law called the Land Act of 1851. There was a disagreement about where the rancho's border was with a nearby rancho called Rancho San Vicente y Santa Monica. This border issue wasn't fully fixed until 1882. Finally, the United States courts officially recognized Rancho Boca de Santa Monica as belonging to Marquez and Reyes, confirming its size at 6,656 acres.

Later Owners of the Rancho

Ysidro Reyes and his wife, Maria Antonia Villa, also built a house. Their home was in the area now known as the Huntington Palisades. Ysidro Reyes died in 1861. He left his half of the rancho to his wife, Maria Antonia.

In 1872, Maria Antonia Reyes sold her share of the land to a man named Colonel Robert S. Baker. In 1874, Colonel Baker started a lawsuit to divide the land. He wanted to split it between himself and the family members of Francisco Marquez, who owned the other half of the rancho.

Later, in the mid-1920s, the families who owned the land sold it to a company called Santa Monica Land & Water Co. This company was owned by Robert Gillis.

A person named Ernest Marquez, who is a descendant of the original Marquez family, has been studying and writing about the history of Rancho Boca de Santa Monica since the 1950s.

Important Places on the Rancho

• Marquez Family Cemetery: This is a special burial ground for the Marquez family.
• Hacienda de Jose Mojica (Hacienda La Finca de la Senoras de Guadelupe): This was the house of a famous Mexican opera singer named Jose Mojica, built in 1929.
• La Señora Research Institute: This is a place for research.