Rancho Corral de Tierra (Vasquez) facts for kids
Rancho Corral de Tierra was a large piece of land in what is now coastal western San Mateo County, California. It covered about 4,436 acres (about 18 square kilometers). This land was given out as a Mexican land grant in 1839.
The name "Corral de Tierra" means "earthen corral" in Spanish. Governor Pro-Tem Manuel Jimeno gave this land to José Tiburcio Vásquez. Jimeno actually split the original Rancho Corral de Tierra into two parts. Vásquez received the smaller southern part. The larger northern part, called Rancho Corral de Tierra (Palomares), went to Francisco Guerrero y Palomares. The dividing line between these two land grants was the Arroyo de en Medio creek, just south of El Granada. Vásquez's portion stretched along the Pacific coast from El Granada south to Pilarcitos Creek. It included what is now the northern part of the city of Half Moon Bay.
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A Look Back: Rancho History
José Tiburcio Vásquez (1795–1862) was an important person in early California. He was born in the Pueblo of San José in Alta California. He served as a soldier at the San Francisco Presidio. He also managed Mission Dolores in Yerba Buena (which is now San Francisco). His brother, José Felipe Vásquez, received another land grant called Rancho Chamisal.
Land Ownership Changes
After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. This change was part of the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty promised that the existing Mexican land grants would still be honored.
To make these grants official under U.S. law, a special process was created. In 1853, a claim for Rancho Corral de Tierra was filed with the Public Land Commission. This commission checked if the land grants were real. The grant for Rancho Corral de Tierra was officially approved, or "patented," to Tiburcio Vasquez in 1873.
Important Legal Cases
José Tiburcio Vásquez passed away in 1862. Francisco Guerrero, who received the other part of Rancho Corral de Tierra, also passed away in 1851. Both Vásquez and Guerrero were involved in a major legal case about land.
This case was known as the Santillan land fraud case. It involved a land grant at Mission Dolores. A priest named Prudencio Santillan claimed he received this land in 1846 from Governor Pío Pico. The Land Commission and a U.S. District Court first said the grant was valid. However, the case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1860, the Supreme Court decided that the Santillan grant was not real and rejected it. Both Vásquez and Guerrero were witnesses in this important case.
Cool Places to See
- Pillar Point station — This was once a whaling station from about 1860 to 1890. It is located on what is now Pillar Point Harbor.
- Montara State Marine Reserve & Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area — These are protected ocean areas near the coast.
