Rancho Rincon del Diablo facts for kids

Rancho Rincon del Diablo was a very large piece of land, about 12,653 acres (which is about 51.2 square kilometers), in what is now San Diego County, California. It was a Mexican land grant given in 1843 to a person named Juan Bautista Alvarado. The name "Rincon del Diablo" means "the devil's corner" or "the devil's hiding place." Today, parts of this old rancho include the city of Escondido and the area called Rincon Del Diablo.

History of Rancho Rincon del Diablo

Early Days with Juan Bautista Alvarado

Juan Bautista Alvarado was born in San Diego. He received this large land grant, which was about three square leagues, in 1843. This happened after the land was no longer controlled by the Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Alvarado built a big house made of adobe bricks, which overlooked the Escondido area. He used his land to raise cattle. Both Juan Bautista Alvarado and his wife passed away in the early 1850s.

California Becomes Part of the United States

After the Mexican–American War, California became part of the United States. This change was called the Mexican Cession. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was an agreement that said the United States would respect the land grants given by Mexico.

Because of a law called the Land Act of 1851, people who owned Mexican land grants had to prove their ownership. A claim for Rancho Rincon del Diablo was made to the Public Land Commission in 1852. This commission was a group that checked land claims. The land grant was officially approved, or "patented," to Juan B. Alvarado's children in 1872. This meant they had the legal right to the land.

Oliver S. Witherby's Ownership

Juan B. Alvarado's children decided they did not want to live on the rancho. So, each of them sold their part of the land to a judge from San Diego named Oliver S. Witherby. It took Judge Witherby about ten years to buy all the different shares of the rancho.

Witherby used the land for farming and made his cattle and sheep herds much larger. In the early 1860s, he even started mining for gold on his property. He created a company called the Rincon del Diablo and Escondido Mining Company.

New Owners and Changes to the Rancho

By 1868, Judge Witherby needed money. He sold his Rancho to Edward McGeary and three brothers named Wolfskill. These new owners changed the rancho from mainly raising cattle to raising sheep. John Wolfskill was the manager who lived there. For many years, a part of the Escondido Valley was known as Wolfskill Plains.

During their 15 years of owning the rancho, they made it even bigger. They bought an extra 160 acres (about 0.65 square kilometers) from someone who was living on the land without official permission, called a "squatter." This made the rancho about 12,813 acres (about 51.85 square kilometers) in total.

The Escondido Company and Land Development

In 1883, a group of people formed the Stockton Company and bought Rancho Rincon del Diablo. Just one year later, these landowners transferred their ownership of the valley to a new group called the Escondido Company. This company planted a very large vineyard with Muscat grapes, which did not need much water to grow.

The Escondido Company did not own the valley for very long. In 1886, they officially gave the land to the Escondido Land & Town Company. This new company started to divide the land into smaller pieces. They also planted even more vineyards and groves of citrus trees, like oranges and lemons.