Rancho Tomales y Baulines facts for kids
Rancho Tomales y Baulines was a large piece of land, about 9,468 acres (38.3 km2), in what is now Marin County, California. It was a special gift of land, called a Mexican land grant, given in 1836 by Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez to a person named Rafael Garcia. This land stretched south from Point Reyes Station, following the Olema Valley, and included the areas known today as Olema and Garcia.
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A Look Back: The Story of Rancho Tomales y Baulines
Rafael Garcia's Early Life
Rafael Garcia (1799-1866) was an important figure in the history of this land. He married Maria Loreto Altamirano in 1827. Rafael was a corporal, which is a type of soldier, stationed at Mission San Rafael. In 1834, he became the first person to settle in the area around Bolinas Lagoon.
Receiving the Land Grant
To help his brother-in-law, Gregorio Briones, get his own land called Rancho Las Baulines, Rafael Garcia moved north. He settled further up the Olema Valley, near Olema. In 1836, he was officially given the Rancho Tomales y Baulines. This grant covered about two square leagues of land. The authorities in Sonoma gave him "juridical possession," which meant he had the legal right to own and use the land. In 1843, Garcia moved his farm animals onto his neighbor James Berry's land, called Rancho Punta de los Reyes.
Changes After the War
After the Mexican–American War, California became part of the United States in 1848. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, stated that the existing land grants would still be honored.
Because of a new law called the California Land Act of 1851, people who owned land grants had to file a claim. Rafael Garcia filed a claim for Rancho Tomales y Baulines in 1852 with the Public Land Commission. The government officially recognized his ownership of the land, which is called being "patented," in 1883.
