Rancho Jamacha facts for kids
Rancho Jamacha was a very large piece of land, about 8,881 acres (36 square kilometers), located in what is now San Diego County, California. It was given as a land grant by the Mexican government in 1840. The person who received this grant was Apolinaria Lorenzana. The name "Jamacha" comes from an old Indian language. This rancho stretched east from another rancho called Rancho de la Nación, following the Sweetwater River Valley. Today, part of the rancho's southwestern area is covered by the Sweetwater Reservoir, a lake that was created in 1888.
History of Rancho Jamacha
Apolinaria Lorenzana was born in 1790 and lived until 1884. She came to California with her mother in 1800. When her mother went back to Mexico, Apolinaria moved to San Diego. There, she was cared for by Raymundo Carrillo. Apolinaria Lorenzana never married. She was very dedicated to the church. Because of her strong religious beliefs, people called her "La Beata," which means "the pious one."
In 1840, Lorenzana received a land grant for about two square leagues. This land was part of the grazing areas that belonged to the San Diego Mission. She also received another smaller land grant called Rancho Cañada de los Coches. Lorenzana continued to live at the mission. After the San Diego Mission became less active, Lorenzana moved to San Juan Capistrano in 1846. She hired John Forster to manage Rancho Jamacha for her.
Changes After the Mexican-American War
After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. This change was agreed upon in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty said that the land grants given by Mexico would still be honored. To make sure these land claims were official, the United States passed the Land Act of 1851. This law required people to file a claim for their land. Apolinaria Lorenzana filed a claim for Rancho Jamacha in 1852. The land was officially granted to her in 1871. This official grant is called a "patent."
Unlike northern California, where many people came looking for gold, most new Americans in the San Diego area after the war were military men. Some of these military people included Colonel John Bankhead Magruder and First Lieutenant Asher R. Eddy. Robert Kelly was also among them.
In 1851, Colonel Magruder got permission from John Forster to let the Army's animals graze on Rancho Jamacha. In 1853, Colonel Magruder bought Rancho Jamacha from Lorenzana. He then sold two-thirds of the rancho to Eddy, Kelly, and two other men named Ames and Pendleton. Colonel Magruder used a mortgage from Lorenzana to help pay for the land. In 1860, Lorenzana sold this mortgage to Eddy, which meant she no longer owned any part of the rancho. She then moved to Santa Barbara. Kelly sold his share of Rancho Jamacha in 1858. He worked as a merchant in San Diego until 1860, when he bought another rancho called Rancho Agua Hedionda.
Dividing the Rancho
In the mid-1860s, the price of cattle dropped a lot. This caused the ownership of Rancho Jamacha to be split among many different people. In 1869, Eddy sold all of Rancho Jamacha to his wife. This happened even though Magruder, Pendleton, and Ames still owned parts of it. Rancho Jamacha was divided even more between 1872 and 1880. The ownership of the property became very confusing. In 1878, Lorenzana even sold Rancho Jamacha to Monica Romero de Ruiz, even though Lorenzana no longer legally owned it. The way Rancho Jamacha was divided among all the different people who claimed parts of it was finally decided in a special court case in 1881.
