Rancho Huasna facts for kids

Rancho Huasna was a huge piece of land, about 22,153 acres, located in what is now San Luis Obispo County, California. It was a special type of land called a Mexican land grant. This means the Mexican government gave the land to someone. In 1843, Governor Manuel Micheltorena gave this grant to a man named Isaac J. Sparks. The rancho stretched along the Huasna River and the western side of the Santa Lucia Range, east of today's Arroyo Grande, and included the area known as Huasna.

History of Rancho Huasna

Isaac Sparks was born in Maine in 1804. He moved to Los Angeles in 1832. By 1848, he had built a very successful business in Santa Barbara. He was involved in trapping otters and trading goods.

Isaac Sparks and His Family

In 1836, Isaac Sparks married Maria De Los Remedios Josefa Eayrs. She was the daughter of a sea captain named George Washington Eayrs. Isaac and Maria had three daughters who grew up:

• Manuela Flora Sparks (born 1846) married Marcus Harloe in 1866.
• Maria Rosa Sparks (born 1851) married Arza Porter in 1870.
• Norberta Sallie Sparks (born 1854) married Frederick K. Harkness in 1874.

Getting the Land Grant

Isaac Sparks received the Rancho Huasna land grant in 1843. This grant was about five square leagues, which is a very large area. He also bought another rancho called Rancho Pismo in 1846 from José Ortega.

Even though he owned Rancho Huasna, Isaac Sparks never lived there. He preferred to stay in Santa Barbara because it was closer to his businesses. An Englishman named John Price managed Rancho Huasna for him. Later, John Price ended up buying Rancho Pismo from Sparks.

California Becomes Part of the U.S.

After the Mexican–American War, which was a conflict between Mexico and the United States, California became part of the United States. This change happened with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This treaty stated that the United States would respect the land grants that had been given by the Mexican government.

Because of a new law called the Land Act of 1851, people who owned land grants had to prove their ownership to the U.S. government. Isaac J. Sparks filed a claim for Rancho Huasna in 1852. His ownership was officially confirmed and recorded, or "patented," in 1879.

Rancho Huasna After Sparks

Isaac Sparks passed away in 1867. After his death, Rancho Huasna was divided among his three daughters. They were Manuela Flora Sparks de Harloe, Maria Rosa Sparks de Porter, and Norberta Sallie Sparks de Harkness.