Rancho Los Coches facts for kids
Rancho Los Coches was a large piece of land, about 2,219 acres (9 square kilometers), in what is now Santa Clara County, California. It was given out as a Mexican land grant in 1844. The name "Los Coches" means "The Pigs" in Spanish.
This land was located on the west side of Los Gatos Creek, south of the city of San Jose. Today, it's near the area called Burbank. A famous old building, the Roberto Adobe and Suñol House, is found on this former rancho land.
Contents
How Rancho Los Coches Began
In 1844, Governor Manuel Micheltorena gave the Rancho Los Coches land to a man named Roberto Balemino. Roberto was an Indian who held an important job at Mission Santa Clara. When he received the land, he also got a "Certificate of Emancipation." This special paper meant he was a full citizen.
Just three years later, in 1847, Roberto Balemino gave the rancho to Antonio Suñol. Roberto owed Antonio money, and the land was used to pay off that debt.
Antonio Suñol and the Rancho
Antonio Suñol was born in Spain in 1796. He came to the Pueblo of San José in 1818 as a sailor on a French ship. He married María Dolores Bernal and became an important person in the community.
Antonio held several public jobs, like Postmaster and even mayor (called "Alcalde") in 1841. He also received another large land grant, Rancho Valle de San Jose, with his three brothers-in-law. The town of Sunol, California is named after him.
In 1849, Antonio Suñol decided to divide Rancho Los Coches into three parts. He gave one-third to his oldest daughter, Paula, and her husband, Pedro Sainsevain. Pierre Sainsevain was also a grantee of another rancho called Rancho Cañada del Rincon en el Rio San Lorenzo. Antonio sold another one-third of the rancho to a man named Henry Morris Naglee.
Rancho Los Coches Becomes Part of the U.S.
After the Mexican–American War, California became part of the United States. This change happened with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This treaty promised that the land grants given by Mexico would still be valid.
To make these land claims official, a new law called the Land Act of 1851 was created. Antonio Suñol, Paula Sainsevain, and Henry Morris Naglee filed a claim for Rancho Los Coches in 1852. Their claim was approved, and the land was officially "patented" to them in 1857. This meant they had clear ownership of the land under U.S. law.
Historic Sites of the Rancho
- Roberto Adobe and Suñol House
