Rancho San Dieguito facts for kids
Rancho San Dieguito was a huge piece of land, about 8,824-acre (35.71 km2), in what is now San Diego County, California. It was a Mexican land grant given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Juan María Osuna. Later, in 1922, this land was renamed Rancho Santa Fe by the Santa Fe Land Company.
The Story of Rancho San Dieguito
Juan María Osuna was a soldier, just like his father. He served for many years at the Presidio of San Diego, which was like a fort. Juan Osuna was very important in setting up the town of San Diego, which had about 150 people back then. He was even chosen as the alcalde, which means he was like the mayor and a judge all in one.
Juan Osuna also became a Justice of the Peace. He even managed the San Diego Mission. As the mayor, one of his jobs was to approve requests for land. So, it made sense that he approved his own request for the San Dieguito land grant. In 1845, Governor Pio Pico officially gave him the full title to Rancho San Dieguito, which was about two square leagues of land.
In 1806, Juan Osuna married Maria Juliana Josepha Lopez. Juan built an adobe home on the ranch for himself and his wife. He gave another existing adobe house to his son, Leandro. Juan Osuna was known as a good mayor. However, he also enjoyed gambling and lost some of his land to pay off debts.
Leandro Osuna took over the ranch in 1851 after his father passed away. Leandro was a soldier who fought in the Battle of San Pasqual in 1846. He died in 1859 when he was only thirty-seven years old. After Leandro's death, the care of Rancho San Dieguito went to Juan Osuna's widow, Juliana Lopez de Osuna.
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 San Dieguito was filed with the Public Land Commission. Juliana Lopez de Osuna officially received the legal ownership, called a patent, for the grant in 1871.
How Rancho San Dieguito Became Rancho Santa Fe
In 1906, the Osuna family, who owned Rancho San Dieguito, sold the land. They sold it to the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company. This company was part of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company, a big railroad company. The railway bought the land because they wanted to plant many Blue gum eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) trees. They planned to cut down these trees to make railroad ties, which are the wooden beams that support train tracks.
However, the eucalyptus wood turned out to be too soft. It would split when railroad spikes were hammered into it. So, the plan to use the wood for railroad ties didn't work. To make up for their losses from this failed timber project, the Santa Fe Land Improvement Company decided to build a new community. They planned it as a place with country estates. In 1922, they renamed the area Rancho Santa Fe. The new community was designed with a special look, using Spanish Colonial Revival and Mediterranean Revival styles for its buildings and landscapes. This design made the area feel like the old Spanish and Mexican rancho days.
Historic Places of the Rancho
- Juan María Osuna Adobe — This was the first home of Juan María Osuna. It is one of the oldest adobe homes in California.
- Leandro Osuna Adobe — In 1924, a businessman from La Jolla named A.H. Barlow bought this historic adobe. He saved it from being destroyed. Several years later, an architect named Lilian Rice helped to fix it up. It still stands today on a small hill overlooking the San Dieguito River valley.
