Rancho Bolsa de Tomales facts for kids

Rancho Bolsa de Tomales was a large piece of land in California. It was given by the Mexican government in 1846. Governor Pío Pico gave it to a person named Juan Nepomuceno Padilla. Its name means "the Pool of the Tomales Indians." This name came from a lake called Burbank's Lake.

The land stretched along the Pacific coast. It went from Estero de San Antonio down to Walker Creek. Today, the town of Tomales is located there. Stemple Creek also flowed through this land. Later, a court in the United States decided that the claim for this land was not real.

History of the Rancho

Juan Nepomuceno Padilla was born in 1824 and came from Mexico to California. In 1845, Padilla was chosen as the alcalde of Yerba Buena. An alcalde was like a mayor and judge in a Spanish or Mexican town. Padilla had some disagreements with other leaders about this job.

In 1845, Governor Pío Pico gave Padilla another large piece of land. It was called Rancho Roblar de la Miseria in Sonoma County, California. Later, he also received Rancho Bolsa de Tomales.

The Bear Flag Revolt and Padilla

In June 1846, a big event happened in California called the Bear Flag Revolt. This was a time when American settlers tried to take control from Mexico. During this time, a group of Californios (people of Mexican heritage in California) led by Captain Juan Padilla had a conflict with some members of the Bear Flag Party.

After this conflict, Padilla and his group went to Rancho Olómpali. A group of Americans then set fire to Padilla's ranch in Sonoma.

Padilla's Later Life

In 1848, Padilla came back from Los Angeles. Some people still blamed him for the earlier conflict in Santa Rosa. A group of former Bear Flaggers attacked him in a hotel in Sonoma.

In 1849, Padilla sold Rancho Bolsa de Tomales to Felix Berreyesa and Jesus Molina. The next year, in 1850, Padilla sold his other ranch, Rancho Roblar de la Miseria. He then moved back to Los Angeles. Juan Nepomuceno Padilla married Maria Marta Avila in 1851.

The Land Claim in the United States

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 be respected.

So, in 1852, a claim for Rancho Bolsa de Tomales was made to the United States government. This was required by a law called the Land Act of 1851. At first, a special commission and a court said the land grant was valid.

However, the US Supreme Court looked at the case again. They thought the claim seemed doubtful and sent it back to the lower court to check again. The lower court still said the grant was valid. But then, some people who were living on the ranch, called squatters, disagreed. They appealed the decision, and the case went back to the US Supreme Court.

The US Supreme Court found that some of the papers for the land claim were not real. They said that if important papers like the approval certificate were fake, it made them believe all the other papers might be fake too. Because of this, the claim for Rancho Bolsa de Tomales was rejected.