Rancho Pauba facts for kids
Rancho Pauba was a very large piece of land in what is now Riverside County, California. It was about 26,598 acres (which is about 107 square kilometers). This land was given out as a Mexican land grant in 1844. A land grant meant the Mexican government gave permission for people to own and use this land. Governor Manuel Micheltorena gave Rancho Pauba to Vicente Moraga and Luis Arenas. The ranch was located just east of today's Temecula. When the United States officially recognized the land ownership, Rancho Pauba was part of San Diego County. Later, in 1893, Riverside County was created from parts of San Bernardino and San Diego Counties.
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The Story of Rancho Pauba
Early Owners and Mission Lands
Vicente Moraga and Luis Arenas were important officials in Los Angeles. They received this large land grant in the Temecula Valley. Before this, the land had been part of the Mission San Luis Rey. In 1848, a Frenchman named Jean-Louis Vignes bought Rancho Pauba. He also owned the land next to it, called Rancho Temecula.
Changes After the Mexican-American War
After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo said that the land grants given by Mexico would still be honored. So, in 1852, a claim for Rancho Pauba was filed with the Public Land Commission. This commission helped decide who officially owned the land. In 1860, Jean-Louis Vignes was officially given the patent (ownership papers) for the grant.
New Owners and Ranching Life
In 1872, two sheep ranchers, Juan and Ezekial Murrieta, moved their sheep flocks to the Temecula Valley looking for water. In 1873, they teamed up with Domingo Pujol, a lawyer from San Francisco, and Francisco Sanjurjo. Together, they bought Rancho Pauba and Rancho Temecula in 1875.
A year later, in 1876, they divided their land. The Murrieta brothers took the area near the town that is now named after them, Murrieta. Domingo Pujol received the main parts of Rancho Temecula and Rancho Pauba. Pujol later went back to Spain and passed away in 1881. His wife, Mercedes Pujol, came from Spain to manage his property. She sold land to the Pauba Land and Water Company. This company later sold the land to the Vail family.
The Vail Ranch Era
In 1904, Walter L. Vail, who was already a successful rancher in Arizona, started buying more ranch land in the Temecula Valley. He bought Rancho Santa Rosa, Rancho Temecula, Rancho Pauba, and part of Rancho Little Temecula. By 1905, the Vail Ranch grew to 87,000 acres. It became one of the biggest cattle ranches in California. The ranch stretched from Camp Pendleton to Vail Lake and Murrieta.
Walter Vail passed away in 1906, and his son, Mahlon Vail, took over the family ranch. The Vail family continued to run their large cattle ranch for the next sixty years. In 1964, the Vails sold the ranch to the Kaiser Steel Company. This company then planned and developed the community of Rancho California. Today, this area includes the cities of Temecula and Murrieta.
