Rancho San Carlos de Jonata facts for kids
Rancho San Carlos de Jonata was a large piece of land, about 26,634 acres, given out by the Mexican government in 1845. This land is now in Santa Barbara County, California. Governor Pío Pico gave this land grant to Joaquín Carrillo and José María Covarrubias. The rancho was located west of Mission Santa Inés in the Santa Ynez Valley. It stretched north from the Santa Ynez River along Zaca Creek. Today, the towns of Solvang and Buellton are on what used to be this rancho.
Contents
The Original Owners of the Rancho
Joaquín Carrillo's Story
José Joaquín Carrillo (1801–1868) was one of the first owners of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata. He was an important person in the area. Joaquín Carrillo served as a judge for Santa Barbara County from 1851 to 1853. He also owned other large land grants with his brother, like Rancho Lompoc.
José María Covarrubias's Journey
José María Covarrubias (around 1809–1870) was another original owner. He was originally from France but became a Mexican citizen. He came to California in 1834 to work as a schoolteacher. José María Covarrubias held many important government jobs in Monterey and Santa Barbara. He was even an alcalde, which was like a mayor and judge combined, in Santa Barbara.
He was also part of the group that wrote California's first constitution in 1849. After California became a state, he served in the California State Assembly for four terms. This means he helped make laws for the state.
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 US would respect the land grants given by Mexico. So, in 1853, Joaquín Carrillo and José M. Covarrubias officially filed a claim for their rancho with the US government. The ownership was confirmed in 1872.
The Buell Family Takes Over
Rufus Thompson (R.T.) Buell (1827-1905) was a farmer who came to California during the California Gold Rush. In 1866, R.T. Buell and his brother, Alonzo Wilcox Buell, bought a large part of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata from the original owners. By 1872, R.T. Buell owned the entire rancho himself.
However, a very bad drought made it hard for Buell to keep all the land. He had to sell about 11,000 acres of the rancho in the 1870s.
The Birth of Solvang
A big part of the rancho was sold in 1911 to a group called the Danish American Company. They wanted to create a Danish community there, which they named "Solvang". When R.T. Buell passed away in 1915, the rest of the rancho was divided among his seven children.
