Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas facts for kids
Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas was a huge piece of land, about 22,283 acres (or 90.17 square kilometers), in what is now Santa Clara County, California. It was a Mexican land grant, which means the Mexican government gave this land away. Governor José Figueroa gave the grant to Carlos Antonio Castro in 1834. The land stretched along Llagas Creek, from near Morgan Hill to Gilroy, and included the area known today as San Martin.
Contents
History
How the Rancho Began
Carlos Antonio Castro, born in 1775, was part of a family that came to California from Mexico in 1775 with the De Anza Expedition. His family was important in early California. Several of his brothers also received large land grants, like Rancho Las Animas and Rancho San Andrés. Carlos Castro himself was in charge of Mission Santa Cruz for a time in 1812. He received the Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas grant in 1834.
New Owners: The Murphy Family
After Carlos Castro passed away, his family sold the Rancho in 1848 to Daniel and Bernard Murphy. These brothers were sons of Martin Murphy, who had brought his family to California in 1844. Martin Murphy had already bought another large ranch nearby, Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche, in 1846.
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 San Francisco de las Llagas was filed with the Public Land Commission. The land was officially given to Daniel and Bernard Murphy (and later joined by James and Martin J. C. Murphy) in 1868. This process of officially granting land is called "patenting."
The Rancho Divides
Over time, the large Rancho began to be divided.
- Daniel Murphy married Mary Fisher in 1851. When Daniel died in 1882, his children, Diana and Daniel Jr., inherited his part of the land. Daniel Murphy Jr. later sold his share of the Rancho in 1892 to a real estate developer named Chauncey Hatch Phillips.
- Bernard Murphy bought other ranches nearby, including Rancho La Polka and Rancho Las Uvas. Sadly, Bernard Murphy died in a steamboat explosion in 1853. His wife, Catherine O’Toole, inherited his land. Catherine later married James Dunne. In 1893, a part of Rancho San Francisco de las Llagas, also known as the Dunne Ranch, was divided into smaller pieces. This led to the creation of the settlement of Rucker.
