Rancho San Pablo facts for kids
Rancho San Pablo was a huge piece of land, about 17,939 acres (which is about 72.6 square kilometers!). It was a special gift of land, called a land grant, given in 1823. The governor at the time, Luis Antonio Argüello, gave this land to Francisco María Castro. Francisco Castro was a former soldier and even served as a mayor (called an alcalde) in the town of San José.
This land grant was later confirmed again in 1834 for Francisco Castro's family after he passed away. One of his heirs was Víctor Castro. Today, the area that was once Rancho San Pablo includes parts of cities like Richmond, San Pablo, El Cerrito, and Kensington in Contra Costa County, California.
Contents
A Look Back at Rancho San Pablo
The Land Before the Grant
Before it became Rancho San Pablo, this land was used for grazing cattle. These cattle belonged to the Misión Dolores, which was a Spanish mission. However, when Mexico became independent, the new Mexican government took control of these lands from the missions. This process was called "secularization."
The Castro Family Home
Francisco María Castro and his wife, María Gabriela Berreyesa, lived on this land with their family. They lived there from the late 1820s until Francisco's death in 1831.
Later, in 1839, the governor of Mexican Alta California, Juan Bautista Alvarado, married one of the Castro daughters. After his time as governor ended, he and his wife moved to her family's property on Rancho San Pablo.
Changes Under United States Rule
California became part of the United States after the Mexican–American War in 1848. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, stated that the United States would respect the land grants given by the Mexican government.
Because of a law called the Land Act of 1851, people who owned land grants had to prove their ownership. So, in 1852, Joaquín Ysidro Castro filed a claim for Rancho San Pablo with the Public Land Commission. The ownership of the land was officially confirmed, or "patented," to Joaquín Ysidro Castro in 1878.
