Rancho Milpitas facts for kids
Rancho Milpitas was a large piece of land, about 4,458 acres (18 square kilometers), in what is now Santa Clara County, California. It was a Mexican land grant, which means the land was given out by the Mexican government when California was still part of Mexico. The name "Milpitas" comes from an old language called Nahuatl. It means "little cornfields," because people used to grow small fields of corn there. Today, the city of Milpitas is built on what used to be this rancho.
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The Story of Rancho Milpitas
The land for Rancho Milpitas was first given to Nicolás Tolantino Antonio Berreyesa in 1834. This was done by the alcalde (a type of mayor or judge) of San José, Pedro Chaboya.
A year later, in 1835, a nearby piece of land was given to José María Alviso by the governor of Alta California, José Castro. Alviso built the first part of his ranch house on the northeast side of his property and moved his family there.
Changes After the Mexican-American War
After the Mexican–American War ended in 1848, California became part of the United States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo said that the land grants given by Mexico would still be honored.
However, it wasn't easy for the families. A new law in 1851 required landowners to prove they owned their land. Berreyesa tried to claim his land in 1853, but his claim was turned down. The Berreyesa family faced great sadness and hardship as they struggled to keep their land. They were eventually forced to leave the rancho.
Alviso hired a lawyer to survey his land. The new boundaries of his rancho ended up including a lot of the land Berreyesa had claimed. Alviso filed his claim in 1852, and his ownership was officially approved in 1871.
Challenges from Squatters
In 1852, many American settlers, called "squatters," started moving onto both the Berreyesa and Alviso lands. These settlers often built homes and claimed land that already belonged to others.
The Berreyesa family was tricked by a settler named James Jakes. He told them that if they built four new homes on the edges of their property, it would help them keep their land. But when the Berreyesas left their main home to build these new ones, Jakes took over their adobe house and claimed the entire rancho for himself.
After Alviso passed away in 1853, his wife, Juana Galindo Alviso, rented a home to two of the Berreyesa sons. Later, when she married Jose Urridias, he made them leave. The Alviso family also had to sell most of their land to pay for legal costs to fight off the American squatters.
Historic Places of the Rancho
- Jose Maria Alviso Adobe: This ranch house was built in 1835 and was once owned by the Alviso family. It still stands today southeast of the corner of Piedmont Road and Calaveras Road, near the city's edge.
- Dutton Hotel, Stagecoach Station: This was a one-story adobe inn built in 1849 by Antonio Ramirez. It was located on Jolon Road in Jolon, California. It served as a place for miners and travelers to stay. Today, only ruins of the adobe inn remain. The Dutton Hotel was an important stop for stagecoaches on El Camino Real in the late 1880s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
