Rancho San Luis Gonzaga facts for kids
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Rancho San Luis Gonzaga was a very large piece of land, about 48,821 acres (197.6 km²). It was a Mexican land grant located in the Diablo Range mountains. Today, this land is part of Santa Clara County and Merced County, California.
The land was given out in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena. The first owners were Juan Carlos Pacheco and José Maria Mejía. Rancho San Luis Gonzaga was bordered by other important places. To the west was Francisco Pérez Pacheco's Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe, near Pacheco Pass. To the east were the San Joaquin River and the San Joaquin Valley. To the south was Los Baños Creek.
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History of Rancho San Luis Gonzaga
A land grant is like a gift of land from the government. The first person to get this land was Francisco Jose Rivera in 1841. But he soon went back to Mexico and did not use the land. So, in 1843, the large grant, which was about eleven square leagues, was given to Juan Carlos Pacheco and José Maria Mejía.
Just three days later, Captain Mejía gave his half of the land to Pacheco. Juan Carlos Pacheco (1823–1855) was the son of Francisco Pérez Pacheco (1790–1860). His father owned another rancho called Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe.
A Crossroads of Travel
Rancho San Luis Gonzaga was in a very important spot. It was where the road from Pacheco Pass met the San Joaquin Valley. It also crossed the El Camino Viejo, an old road that ran along the west side of the valley.
The rancho's land also included an old adobe ranch house. This house was part of a place called Rancho de Centinela (Sentinel Ranch). This ranch was first set up in 1810 by people from San Juan Bautista and Monterey. They used it to raise horses. However, it was left empty in the 1820s.
Changes After the War
After the Mexican–American War, California became part of the United States. This happened with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This treaty said that the land grants given by Mexico would still be honored.
Because of a law called the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho San Luis Gonzaga was made in 1852. This claim was filed with the Public Land Commission. This commission checked who truly owned the land. The grant was officially given to Juan Carlos Pacheco in 1871.
Family and Future
When Juan Carlos Pacheco passed away in 1855, his father, Francisco Pacheco, received the property. In 1858, the rancho became a stop for the Butterfield Overland Mail. This was a famous stagecoach service that carried mail and passengers across the country.
Francisco Pacheco died in 1860. His only child who was still alive, Isidora Pacheco (1829–1892), inherited most of the family's land. In 1850, Isidora married Mariano Malarin (1827–1895). He was from Rancho Chualar. When María Isidora Pacheco died in 1892, her property included Rancho San Luis Gonzaga and half of Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe.
Modern Times
Paula Fatjó was a great-granddaughter of Isidora and Mariano Malarin. In 1948, she inherited about 16,000 acres (64.7 km²) of the ranch land. She used this land to raise horses and cattle.
However, in 1962, the state of California took most of her property. They needed the land to build the San Luis Reservoir. The original ranch house from 1846, which Paula Fatjó had fixed up, was destroyed. This happened when people tried to move it away from the area that would be flooded by the new lake.
Paula Fatjó died on December 30, 1992. She left the remaining 6,890 acres (27.9 km²) of land to the California Parks System. This land is now part of Pacheco State Park, which people can visit today.
