Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura facts for kids
Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura was a huge piece of land, about 48,823 acres, in what is now Ventura County, California. It was given out as a Mexican land grant in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico to a man named José de Arnaz. The name "ex-Mission" means it used to be part of the lands belonging to Mission San Buenaventura. When the mission lands were divided, the church kept the area right around it, and everything else became "ex-Mission lands." This large grant stretched east from today's Ventura, going inland along the Santa Clara River all the way to Santa Paula.
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A Look Back: The Story of the Rancho
José de Arnaz and the Land Grant
José de Arnaz (born in Spain, 1820–1895) was a businessman who traded along the California coast. He opened a store in Los Angeles. In 1847, he married Maria Mercedes de Avila.
In 1846, Governor Pio Pico gave the large Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura to José de Arnaz. This was a "Mexican land grant," which means the Mexican government gave away large areas of land. José de Arnaz had been leasing these lands with his business partner, Narciso Botello, before he officially received the grant.
Changes During the War
During the Mexican–American War, which happened from 1846 to 1848, the United States did not recognize Arnaz's ownership of the land. In 1847, when Colonel Stevenson arrived in Southern California, he took control of the Arnaz land for the United States. He then put another person in charge of the property.
In 1849, José de Arnaz bought part of another ranch called Rancho Rincón de los Bueyes in Los Angeles. The next year, in 1850, he sold Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura to Manuel Antonio Rodriguez de Poli.
New Ownership and Official Recognition
After the Mexican–American War, California became part of the United States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 said that the land grants given by the Mexican government would be respected.
Because of a new law called the Land Act of 1851, people who owned land grants had to file a claim with the Public Land Commission. Manuel Antonio Rodriguez de Poli filed a claim for Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura in 1852. The land was officially recognized and given a patent to him in 1874. A patent is like an official document that proves who owns the land.
Later, Poli sold the property to a company called the San Buenaventura Commercial, Manufacturing and Mining Company. In 1874, the parts of the Rancho that were not yet owned by settlers were sold to Rudolph Steinbach and Horace W. Carpentier. After the official patent was given, there was a disagreement about where the exact border was between Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura and the ranch next to it, Rancho Santa Paula y Saticoy.
