Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi facts for kids
Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi (also known as "Cañada de Pogolome" and "Cañada de Pogolomi") was a large piece of land in what is now Sonoma County, California. It was about 8,781.81-acre (35.5387 km2) in size. This land was given as a Mexican land grant in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena. The grant went to María Antonia Cazares, who was the widow of James Dawson. Today, the town of Bloomfield is located on this historic rancho.
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History of Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi
In 1835, Governor José Figueroa asked Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo to build the Presidio of Sonoma. A presidio was like a fort or military base. This was done to keep an eye on the Russian presence at Fort Ross. To help expand settlements towards Fort Ross, Vallejo sent three men: Edward McIntosh, James Black, and James Dawson.
These three men had come to California as sailors. They sailed with Captain John B.R. Cooper, who was General Vallejo's brother-in-law. James Black settled on land that became Rancho Cañada de Jonive. James Dawson and Edward McIntosh settled on Rancho Estero Americano. They worked together to build a saw-mill on Salmon Creek, near the town of Freestone.
The Russian-American Company left Fort Ross in 1841. They sold it to John Sutter. The mill on Rancho Cañada de Jonive kept working until 1849. Then, the men sold all their lumber and left to search for gold.
How the Land Grant Was Divided
McIntosh and Dawson decided to ask the Mexican government for the Rancho Estero Americano land grant together. This was to make their ownership official. In 1839, McIntosh went to Monterey, the capital, to get the necessary papers. However, at that time, Mexican authorities preferred to give land grants to only one owner.
When McIntosh returned, Dawson looked at the papers. He found that the grant was only in McIntosh's name. The story goes that when Dawson found this out, he took a saw and cut the house they shared in half! He then moved his half to the land that would become his own grant, Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi.
In June 1840, James Dawson married María Antonia Cazares. She was 14 years old and born in 1826. Her father was a Spanish sergeant. Dawson lived on his rancho with his wife until he died in October 1843. The Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi grant was then given to his widow, María Antonia Cazares, in February 1844.
Life on the Rancho
María Antonia Cazares de Dawson married Frederick Gustavus Blume in November 1847. Blume was a doctor and merchant from Sonoma, California. He was born in Germany in 1815 and first came to California in 1842.
Blume put his brother-in-law, Henry Hagler, in charge of his wife's rancho for the winter. In 1848, the Blumes moved from Sonoma to live on the rancho themselves. Their home was on a hill overlooking Freestone. The town of Bloomfield, which is on the rancho, was named after Frederick Blume.
Even though he wasn't an American citizen yet, Blume was chosen for the first Territorial Legislature. This group met in San Jose, California in 1849. Blume also became the postmaster of Freestone in 1870 and a judge in 1873.
Changes After the Mexican-American War
After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. This happened with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This treaty said that the existing land grants would still be honored.
Because of a new law called the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi was filed in 1852. This was done with the Public Land Commission. The land grant was officially given to María Antonia Cazares in 1858. This process is called being "patented."
María Antonia Cazares de Blume also took care of her elderly parents. They had moved from San Francisco to be close to her. Her father, Francisco Caceres, died in Freestone in 1848 at age 76. Her mother, Anastasia Boronda Caceres, died the next year.
María Antonia Cazares de Blume died in 1880 when she was 54 years old. She did not have any children. Frederick Blume faced challenges from a group of settlers. He was forced to sell much of his valuable land at very low prices. When he died in 1890, he owned very little of the original rancho land.
