Rancho Valle de San Jose (Portilla) facts for kids

Rancho Valle de San Jose was a huge piece of land, about 17,634 acres (71.36 km2), in what is now San Diego County, California. It was a Mexican land grant, which means the Mexican government gave it away. In 1836, Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez gave this land to Silvestre de la Portilla. The rancho was located in the northeast part of San Diego County. Its northern edge was near Buena Vista Creek and another rancho called Rancho San Jose del Valle. Today, some of the western part of this land is covered by Lake Henshaw, a lake created in 1922 by a dam on the San Luis Rey River.

History of the Rancho

How the Land Was Granted

In 1834, the Mission San Luis Rey was going through a big change called "secularization." This meant the mission lands were being taken from the church and given to private citizens. Captain Pablo de la Portillà was put in charge of this process.

Two years later, in 1836, his brother, Silvestre de la Portillo, received the Rancho Valle de San Jose. This rancho was a large part of the valley that used to belong to Mission San Luis Rey. Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez officially granted the land to Silvestre. After getting the land, Silvestre de la Portillo left his brother Pablo in charge and went back to his home in Sonora, Mexico. He didn't return to California until the 1850s.

Changes After the Mexican-American War

After the Mexican–American War ended in 1848, California became part of the United States. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, which said that the U.S. would respect the land grants given by Mexico.

To make sure these land grants were official under U.S. law, a new rule called the Land Act of 1851 was created. People who owned Mexican land grants had to file a claim with the Public Land Commission. Silvestre de la Portilla filed his claim for Rancho Valle de San Jose in 1852. It took many years, but the grant was finally made official, or "patented," to him in 1880.

New Owners of the Rancho

In 1858, Silvestre de la Portilla sold Rancho Valle de San Jose to a woman named Vicenta Sepulveda de Carrillo. Silvestre later married Claudia Valdez in 1860 at Mission San Luis Rey.

Vicenta Sepulveda (born 1816) was an important person. She had been married to Tomas Antonio Yorba and then to Jose Ramon Carrillo. She also owned another large land grant called Rancho La Sierra. Vicenta lived on Rancho Valle de San Jose until 1869. After that, she moved her family to Anaheim.

Around 1875, two men, Louis Phillips and John G. Downey, owned most of the southern part of Rancho Valle de San Jose. They also owned the northern part of another large rancho nearby, called Rancho San Jose del Valle, which belonged to Juan Jose Warner. By 1880, John G. Downey became the only owner of both these large land areas.

Native American Rights

The Cupeño Native Americans had lived on this land for a very long time, long before the ranchos were created. Their right to live on their traditional homeland became a big issue. In 1901, the U.S. Supreme Court made a decision. They agreed with earlier court rulings that a U.S. government land patent meant the owner had complete control of the land. Because of this, the Cupeño people were ordered to leave their ancestral lands.