Rancho San Leandro facts for kids
Rancho San Leandro was a huge piece of land, about 6,830 acres, in what is now Alameda County, California. It was a "Mexican land grant," which means the Mexican government gave it away. In 1842, Governor Juan Alvarado gave this land to José Joaquín Estudillo. The ranch stretched along the eastern side of San Francisco Bay, from San Leandro Creek down to San Lorenzo Creek. Today, the city of San Leandro sits on much of this old ranch land.
The Estudillo Family and Their New Home
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José Joaquín Estudillo (1800 – 1852) was an important person in early California. He was the son of a Spanish soldier and joined the Spanish Army when he was just 15 years old.
In 1823, Estudillo married Juana del Carmen Martinez. Her father, Ygnacio Martínez, also had a large land grant called Rancho El Pinole.
José Joaquín Estudillo held several important jobs. In 1835, he helped with the "secularization" of Mission San Francisco de Asís. This was when the Mexican government took control of the missions from the church. Also in 1835, he was elected "alcalde" (like a mayor or judge) of Yerba Buena, which is now the city of San Francisco.
After his year as alcalde, Estudillo, his wife, and their ten children moved across San Francisco Bay. They settled on San Leandro Creek, just south of the Peralta family's Rancho San Antonio. This new home became Rancho San Leandro.
How Rancho San Leandro Became Part of the U.S.
After the Mexican–American War, California became part of the United States. This happened with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This treaty promised that the U.S. would respect the land grants given by the Mexican government.
To make these land grants official under U.S. law, people had to file a claim. So, in 1852, a claim for Rancho San Leandro was filed with the Public Land Commission. This commission was set up to check all the old land grants.
In 1863, the land grant was officially "patented" to José Joaquín Estudillo. This means the U.S. government gave him the official ownership papers for the land.
Challenges and Changes for the Ranch
The original land grant was supposed to be about one square league (a large area). However, the official survey showed it was even bigger. The exact eastern border of the ranch was not very clear. This caused problems with a neighbor, Guillermo Castro, who owned Rancho San Lorenzo.
Another big problem was "squatters." These were people who moved onto the Estudillo family's land in 1851 without permission. Their camp even became known as "Squatterville."
José Joaquín Estudillo passed away in June 1852 in San Francisco. After his death, two of his sons-in-law, John B. Ward and William Heath Davis, worked hard to deal with the squatters. They even had to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court eventually ruled in favor of the Estudillo family. After this, many of the squatters ended up buying the land from the family. This helped to officially settle who owned the different parts of the old Rancho San Leandro.
