Rancho Los Huecos facts for kids

Rancho Los Huecos was a very large piece of land in what is now Santa Clara County, California. It was about 39,951 acres (or about 162 square kilometers) in size! This land was given out as a "Mexican land grant" in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico. A land grant was like a gift of land from the government. The people who received this grant were Luis Arenas and John A. Rowland. The rancho stretched along the San Felipe Valley, near where the cities of Gilroy and Hollister are today, at the base of the Diablo Range mountains.

History of the Land Grant

How Rancho Los Huecos Came to Be

Luis Arenas arrived in California in 1834. He had already received another land grant called Rancho El Susa in 1841. His son, Cayetano Arenas, worked as a secretary for Governor Pio Pico. Later, a person named J. L. Hornsby bought Luis Arenas's share of the land grant.

John Rowland, often called "John Roland" in old records, also received another land grant called Rancho La Puente. He sold his parts of Rancho Los Huecos to three people: Naglee, McDermott, and Patterson.

The Land and Its Map

Rancho Los Huecos was considered "sobrante," which means it was surplus or extra land. It was left over from two earlier land grants made in 1839: Rancho Cañada de San Felipe y Las Animas and Rancho Cañada de Pala.

When Rowland and Arenas asked for the land grant, they did not give the governor a map of the area they wanted. They said they would provide a map later if it was needed. However, a map was never made or given to the governor.

Becoming Part of the United States

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 by the United States.

To make sure these land grants were official, the U.S. government created the Land Act of 1851. This law required people to file a claim for their land with the Public Land Commission. This commission was a group that checked if land claims were real and valid.

In 1852, a claim for Rancho Los Huecos was filed. But in 1854, the commission said "no" to the claim. Why? Because the original grant papers did not include a map of the land.

The Final Decision

The owners of Rancho Los Huecos did not give up. They appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the United States. Finally, in 1876, the Supreme Court officially recognized the land grant. This meant the land was legally "patented" (officially owned) by John Rowland and J. L. Hornsby.