Rancho Sotoyome facts for kids

Rancho Sotoyome was a very large piece of land, about 48,837 acres, given out by the Mexican government in California. It was given to a man named Henry D. Fitch. The name "Sotoyome" or "Satiyomes" came from a Native American tribe called the Wappo. This land grant was located in what is now Sonoma County, California. It stretched along the Russian River and included the area known today as Alexander Valley and the city of Healdsburg.

History of Rancho Sotoyome

How the Land Grant Started

Henry Delano Fitch was a sea captain from San Diego. He married Josefa Carrillo. This made him the brother-in-law of a very important person, General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. General Vallejo was married to Josefa's sister. Because of this family connection, General Vallejo played a big part in helping Fitch get the Rancho Sotoyome land grant.

Fitch hired a man named Cyrus Alexander to manage the ranch. They had an agreement that after four years, Alexander would receive a large piece of land (about two square leagues) and some of the ranch animals. Fitch asked for his land grant in 1840. The governor at the time, Juan Alvarado, officially gave him about 35,000 acres in 1841. Later, in 1844, another governor, Manuel Micheltorena, added about three more square leagues to Fitch's land.

Changes in Management and Ownership

After Cyrus Alexander's contract ended in 1845, Mose Carson took over as the manager of Rancho Sotoyome. Mose Carson was the brother of the famous explorer Kit Carson. Cyrus Alexander then moved to the land he had been promised, which is now known as Alexander Valley.

Captain Fitch continued his work as a trader, sailing up and down the coast. Rancho Sotoyome was just one of many businesses he managed from his home base in San Diego. After gold was found in California, Fitch planned to move his family north to Rancho Sotoyome. However, he passed away in 1849 before he could make the move. After his death, his wife, Josefa, and their children moved to live on Rancho Sotoyome. Their third son, Guillermo (also known as William), married Clara Piña. Her family owned the land next to Rancho Sotoyome, called Rancho Tzabaco.

Rancho Sotoyome Becomes Part of the U.S.

After the Mexican-American War, California became part of the United States. This happened because of a peace agreement called the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This treaty said that the land grants given by Mexico would still be honored by the United States.

Because of a new law called the Land Act of 1851, Josefa Carrillo de Fitch had to file a claim for Rancho Sotoyome with the Public Land Commission in 1852. This was to prove that the land truly belonged to her family under the new U.S. government. The grant was officially approved and given a "patent" (a legal document proving ownership) to Josefa in 1858. Cyrus Alexander also tried to claim the two square leagues of land he was promised in 1853, but his claim was not approved by the Land Commission.

The Founding of Healdsburg

In 1856, Josefa Carrillo de Fitch decided to sell part of the Rancho Sotoyome land at an auction. She did this to pay taxes. Harmon Heald, a businessman from Ohio, had been living on Rancho Sotoyome without permission since 1850. He bought about 100 acres of land at the auction. Heald's small town, which became known as Healdsburg, was officially made a city in 1867.