Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos facts for kids
Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos was a large piece of land in what is now northern San Diego County, California. It was about 8,975-acre (36.32 km2) in size! This land was given out as a Mexican land grant in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to a person named Jose María Alvarado. The name "Vallecitos de San Marcos" means "little valleys of St. Mark." This rancho was located between Rancho Rincon del Diablo and Rancho Buena Vista, and it included the area where San Marcos is today.
History of Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos
In 1840, José María Alvarado (who lived from 1813 to 1846) and his wife, María Lugarda Osuna, were given the Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos. This rancho was about two square leagues, which is a very large area. However, less than a year after getting the land, José María Alvarado sold it to Lorenzo Soto. Lorenzo Soto (1821–1863) was the son of Francisco Soto, who owned another rancho called Rancho San Lorenzo Baja.
After the Mexican–American War ended in 1848, California became part of the United States. A peace agreement called the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo said that the land grants given by Mexico would still be honored. Because of a new law called the Land Act of 1851, people who owned land grants had to prove their ownership. So, in 1852, a claim for Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos was filed with the Public Land Commission. This commission was a special group that checked who truly owned the land. The rancho was officially recognized as belonging to Lorenzo Soto in 1883.
Lorenzo Soto married Maria Rosa Soto first. After she passed away in 1857, he married María Ygnacia Morena. In 1859, Lorenzo Soto also bought Rancho Buena Vista from Jesus Machado. After Lorenzo Soto died in 1863, his widow, María Ygnacia Morena de Soto, married Tomas Alvarado in 1864. Tomas Alvarado (1841–) was part owner of another rancho called Rancho Monserate. Tomas Alvarado then sold Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos to Cave Johnson Couts in 1866.
Cave Johnson Couts (1821–1874) was from Tennessee and was a nephew of a well-known person named Cave Johnson. Couts graduated from West Point, a famous military school, in 1843. He came to California in 1849 as a lieutenant with the U.S. Army. The Army was in California after the Mexican–American War. Couts later left the Army and settled in San Diego. In 1849, he was asked to survey and map the town lands of San Diego. He married Ysidora Bandini, the daughter of Juan Bandini, in 1851. Couts started buying a lot of property and became important in the area's decisions. He also owned Rancho Guajome and Rancho Buena Vista. In 1853, Couts was appointed to help manage affairs for the San Luis Rey Native American people. He hired Native American workers to improve his properties. After Couts died, his son, Cave J. Couts, Jr. (1856–1943), took over managing the rancho.
In 1886, there was a disagreement over who truly owned the land. A family member of Soto claimed ownership, but the dispute was settled, and the land officially belonged to the Couts family.
