Rancho San Pascual also known as Rancho el Rincón de San Pascual was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given to Juan Marine in 1834 by

José Figueroa José Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835), was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. He wrote the first book to be published in California. Background and governorship Figueroa was a Mestizo of Spanish ...

. Rancho San Pascual land now includes the cities of

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

, South Pasadena, and portions of

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

, and the unincorporated communities of Altadena and San Pasqual.

History

After the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was secularized in 1834, the rancho was granted by Governor Figueroa to Juan Mariné, a retired artillery lieutenant. Juan Marine's wife Maria Antonia Sepulveda had died in 1831, and Marine married the widow

Eulalia Pérez de Guillén Mariné Eulalia Pérez de Guillén Mariné (1766? – June 11, 1878) was a Californio who was '' mayordoma'' of Mission San Gabriel Arcángel and grantee of Rancho del Rincón de San Pascual in the San Rafael Hills, in present-day Los Angeles County, ...

. Juan Marine died in 1838, and José Pérez and Enrique Sepúlveda were granted title to Rancho San Pascual by Mexican Governor Alvarado in 1839. Both built small adobe houses near the Arroyo Seco. Perez died in 1841 and Enrique Sepulveda died in 1843. Rancho San Pascual was once again abandoned. Manuel Garfias, a lieutenant in the Mexican Army, denounced the former grant and claimed the land for himself. Manuel Garfias was granted title to Rancho San Pasqual by Mexican Governor Micheltorena in 1843. Garfias served in Micheltorena's "Batalon Fijo de Californias" or the Fixed Battalion of California as an officer from 1842 to 1845. Garfias married Luisa Avila, the daughter of Francisco Avila and María Encarnación Sepúlveda Avila, the owners of Rancho Las Cienegas and the

Avila Adobe The Ávila Adobe, built in 1818 by Francisco Ávila, is the oldest standing residence in the city of Los Angeles, California. Avila Adobe is located in the ''paseo'' of historic Olvera Street, a part of the Los Angeles Plaza Historic District, a ...

. With the

cession The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdictio ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho San Pascual to the Public Land Commission for 3 square leagues based on the Alvarado grant to Enrique Sepulveda and José Perez, was made by María Merced Lugo de Foster and María Antonia Perez June, but was rejected. Garfias received a US patent for based on the Micheltorena grant. Benjamin "Don Benito" Wilson acquired a small part of the Rancho in 1852, and received a US patent for . Garfias sold portions of San Pascual to finance the building of an elaborate adobe manor was constructed along the east bank of the Arroyo Seco. This expensive adobe was the new headquarters of Rancho San Pascual, but it caused Garfias to lose his land. Benjamin Wilson acquired rest of the rancho from Garfias in 1858. Wilson sold a half interest in Rancho San Pascual to John S. Griffin in 1860. Griffin sold portions of his share including to Dr. Benjamin S. Eaton, the father of Fred Eaton. In 1873, Daniel M. Berry, a purchasing agent for the Indiana Colony of California, came to Rancho San Pascual. Berry purchased a large portion of the property along the Arroyo Seco and on January 31, 1874 incorporated the

Indiana Colony The Indiana Colony refers to a group of Indiana residents who settled the area known today as Pasadena, California. The group was incorporated on January 31, 1874, by Indiana residents who sought warmer weather after the exceptionally cold winter o ...

.. In 1872,

George Stoneman George Stoneman Jr. (August 8, 1822 – September 5, 1894) was a United States Army cavalry officer and politician who served as the fifteenth Governor of California from 1883 to 1887. He was trained at West Point, where his roommate was Stonewall ...

bought from Wilson.

Historic sites of the Rancho

* Adobe Flores built by José Pérez. After his defeat at the

Battle of La Mesa The Battle of La Mesa was the final battle of the California Campaign during the Mexican–American War, occurring on January 9, 1847, in present-day Vernon, California, the day after the Battle of Rio San Gabriel. The battle was a victory for ...

, Jose Maria Flores camped at Rancho San Pascual near the adobe. * Governor Stoneman Adobe, Los Robles.Governor Stoneman Adobe, Los Robles

References

External links

Map of old Spanish and Mexican ranchos in Los Angeles County
{{California history San Pascual San Pascual History of Pasadena, California Altadena, California Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County) San Marino, California San Gabriel Valley South Pasadena, California 1834 establishments in Alta California

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References

External links