Rancho Petaluma facts for kids
Rancho Petaluma was a huge piece of land in what is now Sonoma County, California. It was like a big farm or ranch given by the Mexican government. In 1834, the Governor, José Figueroa, gave this land to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo.
This rancho was about 66,622 acres (which is about 270 square kilometers)! It stretched from the Petaluma River in the west to Sonoma Creek in the east. It also included land from the edge of San Francisco Bay up to where Glen Ellen is today. The cities of Petaluma and Lakeville are now on parts of this old rancho.
The Story of Rancho Petaluma
In 1833, Lieutenant Vallejo was asked by Governor Figueroa to explore the area north of Mission San Rafael. He also visited places like Fort Ross and Bodega Bay.
While exploring, Vallejo rode through the rich, fertile valley of Petaluma. He liked the area so much that he built a small house and a place for animals there. Soon, he asked the Governor for a land grant so he could keep his livestock there.
Governor Figueroa approved the land grant in June 1834. Vallejo was given a very important job. He became the Military Commander and Director of Colonization for the northern border. He was also told to take over the mission at Sonoma. His job was to change it into a regular church, free the Native American workers, and share the mission's land and other things with the people.
The original land grant was about 44,000 acres (about 178 square kilometers). In 1843, Governor Manuel Micheltorena confirmed the grant and added another 22,000 acres (about 89 square kilometers) to it. Even though his rancho was in Petaluma, Vallejo lived in Sonoma.
When California became part of the United States after the Mexican–American War in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo said that the land grants would still be valid. So, in 1852, Vallejo officially filed a claim for Rancho Petaluma with the government. The ownership of the land was officially given to Mariano G. Vallejo in 1874.
As new settlers moved into Sonoma County in the mid-1850s, Vallejo started to divide his huge rancho into smaller pieces. He then sold most of these pieces. By 1864, Vallejo sold the last 1,450 acres (about 5.9 square kilometers) of the original Rancho Petaluma to a banker from San Francisco named Alfred Borel.
Historic Places of the Rancho
- Rancho Petaluma Adobe: This is a historic adobe ranch house that Vallejo owned and built.
- Jack London State Historic Park
