Rancho Santa Manuela facts for kids
Rancho Santa Manuela was a very large piece of land, about 16,955 acres (which is about 68.6 square kilometers), in what is now San Luis Obispo County, California. This land was given as a Mexican land grant in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to a person named Francis Ziba Branch. Today, the area known as Arroyo Grande, California is part of where this rancho once was.
A New Home in California
Francis Ziba Branch (1802–1874) was an important person in the story of Rancho Santa Manuela. He traveled a long way to California in 1831 with a group called the Wolfskill party. In 1835, he married María Manuela Carlón. Just two years later, in 1837, Governor Alvarado officially gave Francis Branch the land grant for Rancho Santa Manuela. This meant he now owned this huge area of land.
Changes After the War
Later, California became part of the United States. This happened after the Mexican–American War and was made official by the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This treaty said that the land grants given by the Mexican government, like Rancho Santa Manuela, would still be honored by the United States.
To make sure these land claims were fair and legal, the U.S. government passed the Land Act of 1851. This law required people who had received land grants to file a claim with a special group called the Public Land Commission. Francis Ziba Branch did this in 1852 for Rancho Santa Manuela. After a review, the land was officially confirmed and given a patent to him in 1868. This patent was like a final, official document proving his ownership.
The Rancho Changes Hands
The Branch family lived on Rancho Santa Manuela for many years. However, in 1879, much of the rancho was sold. It was bought by Philip Biddle and his son, John Biddle (1840–1891). This marked a new chapter for the historic Rancho Santa Manuela.
