Rancho Cañada del Corral facts for kids

Rancho Cañada del Corral was a very large piece of land, about 8,876 acres (which is about 36 square kilometers), in what is now Santa Barbara County, California. It was given as a Mexican land grant in 1841 to a person named José Dolores Ortega. The name "Cañada del Corral" means "valley corral" in Spanish. This land stretched along the Pacific coast, from another ranch called Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio, past El Capitán State Beach, all the way to Rancho Dos Pueblos. It also went up into the Santa Ynez Mountains.

History of the Rancho

The First Owner

José Dolores Ortega was the grandson of an important explorer named José Francisco Ortega. In 1841, he was granted the Rancho Cañada del Corral, which was about two square leagues in size. At that time, José Dolores Ortega was also the majordomo (or manager) at Mission Santa Barbara.

Becoming Part of the United States

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

Because of a new law called the California Land Act of 1851, people who owned these land grants had to prove their ownership. So, in 1853, a claim for Rancho Cañada del Corral was filed. The ownership of the land was officially confirmed to José Dolores Ortega in 1866.

Changes in Ownership

José Dolores Ortega and his family lived on Rancho Cañada del Corral. They raised cattle and farmed the land. However, after many years of severe droughts that made farming very difficult, they had to sell the ranch in 1866.

Bruno Francisco Orella and his wife, Mercedes Gonzalez y Guevara, bought the ranch in 1866. From then on, the land became known as the Orella Ranch. When Bruno died in 1901, his land was divided among his eleven children.

Fermín Orella inherited the part of the land that is still called Orella Ranch today. However, Fermín became a doctor and lived in San Francisco. So, his nephew, Martin Erro, came to live and farm the Orella Ranch. Fermín had no children, so he eventually gave the Orella Ranch to Martin Erro. Martin continued to farm the land until he passed away in 1960.

Historic Sites

• Orella Adobes. These are two old adobe buildings. Today, they are used as offices by the ExxonMobil company.