Rancho Novato facts for kids

Rancho Novato was a very large piece of land in what is now Marin County, California. It was about 8,871 acres big! This land was given out as a "Mexican land grant" in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado. A man named Fernando Feliz received the grant. The land stretched along San Pablo Bay and included the area where the city of Novato is today.

Rancho Novato's Story

The First Owner: Fernando Feliz

Fernando De La Trinidad Feliz was born in Los Angeles in 1795. He was an important person in the town of San José, serving as a "regidor," which is like a town council member, in 1831. In 1839, Governor Juan Alvarado gave him the Rancho Novato land grant.

In 1844, Fernando Feliz received another land grant called Rancho Sanel. This was in Mendocino County. Because he had new land, he sold Rancho Novato to Jacob P. Leese and moved away.

New Owners and Changes

In 1846, Jacob Leese sold Rancho Novato to Bezer Simmons. Simmons built a large wooden house on the land in 1850. He also bought another rancho called Rancho San Diego Island. Later, Simmons gave the rancho to a group of people he owed money to, called his creditors.

After the Mexican-American War ended in 1848, California became part of the United States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which was the peace agreement, said that the existing Mexican land grants would still be valid.

To make sure these land grants were officially recognized by the United States, a special claim had to be filed. So, in 1852, a claim for Rancho Novato was filed with the Public Land Commission. This commission was set up to check all the old land grants. In 1866, the grant was officially "patented" to Simmons' creditors. This means the U.S. government confirmed they were the legal owners.

The Ranch's Later Years

Two of the creditors, James Johnson and Andrew McCabe, bought out the other creditors. Then, in 1857, they sold Rancho Novato to Francis DeLong and Joseph Sweetser.

Francis C. DeLong came to California in 1850 and opened a grocery store in San Francisco. He and Joseph Sweetser, who used to be a merchant, became business partners. They planted a large orchard with apple, pear, and apricot trees along the banks of Novato Creek.

In 1879, Sweetser and DeLong decided to end their partnership. Sweetser sold all of his parts of the ranch to DeLong. However, Sweetser kept one square mile of land. This area is where downtown Novato is located today.