Rancho Cañada de San Vicente y Mesa del Padre Barona facts for kids
Rancho Cañada de San Vicente y Mesa del Padre Barona was a very large piece of land, about 13,316-acre (53.89 km2). It was a special gift of land from the Mexican government in 1846. This land was given by Governor Pío Pico to Juan Bautista Lopez. You can find this area today in San Diego County, California, specifically in the San Vicente and Padre Barona Valleys, south of Ramona. Long ago, this land was used for grazing animals by the Mission San Diego. A priest named Father José Barona worked at Mission San Diego for many years before moving to the Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Contents
History of the Rancho Land Grant
How the Land Was Given Out
The Rancho Cañada de San Vicente y Mesa del Padre Barona was given to Juan Bautista Lopez. He was born in 1786. Juan Bautista Lopez was a military helper to Governor Pico. They worked together against another governor, Manuel Victoria, in 1831.
In 1850, Juan Bautista Lopez gave the rancho to his nephew, Domingo Yorba. Domingo was born in 1826. Domingo's mother and Lopez's wife were sisters. This made them close family. Domingo agreed to take care of his aunt and uncle in return for the land.
California Becomes Part of the U.S.
After the Mexican–American War, California became part of the United States in 1848. This was agreed upon in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty said that land grants, like the rancho, would still be valid.
The U.S. government created a special group called the Public Land Commission in 1851. This group checked all the old land grants. In 1852, a claim for Rancho Cañada de San Vicente y Mesa del Padre Barona was filed. The government officially recognized Domingo Yorba as the owner in 1873. This official recognition is called a land patent.
New Owners and Dividing the Land
In 1868, Domingo Yorba sold the rancho to Charles V. Howard. Right away, Charles Howard sold half of the land to three other people: Prudent Beaudry, John G. Downey, and G.A. Hayward.
Less than a year later, these partners sold the rancho to a group of 19 different people. In 1870, they started dividing the large rancho into smaller pieces.
One person who bought land was Augustus Barnett. He came to California in 1870 and first lived in San Jose. Later, he moved to San Diego. After about two years in the city, the Barnett family moved to the San Vicente area. Over several years, Augustus Barnett bought and traded different pieces of land. He put them together to create his own large property, which was about 1,300-acre (5.3 km2). This became known as the Barnett Ranch.
