Rancho Agua Caliente was a Mexican land grant in present day

Sonoma County, California Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...

given in 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Lázaro Piña (often misspelled as "Pena" in historical documents). The name means "warm water" and refers to the hot springs in the area. The grant extended two and one half leagues to the north of Sonoma and was one quarter league wide, and included present day Glen Ellen, Fetters Hot Springs, and Agua Caliente.

History

Lázaro Piña (d. 1847), a soldier who had come to California in 1819. In 1829, Lazaro joined the military revolt of Joaquín Solis. against Governor Echeandía. In 1838, Piña came under the command of General Mariano Vallejo in Sonoma. By 1840, Vallejo's staff consisted of Colonel Victor Prudon, Major José de los Santos Berreyesa, and Alfarez (second lieutenant) Lázaro Piña. Lázaro Piña and his wife, Maria Placida Villela (d.1844) were the parents of six sons (Jesus(b. 1826), José German Pina (1829–1847), Francisco(b. 1831), Antonio(1831–1853), Luis(b. 1834)) and one daughter, Clara (b. 1836). José German Pina was the grantee of

Rancho Tzabaco Rancho Tzabaco was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Sonoma County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to José German Piña (often misspelled as "Pena" in historical documents). The grant extended ...

. When Villela died in 1844, Lázaro married, Maria Ignacia Pacheco. Lázaro left California soon after the beginning of the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...

and was killed fighting on the Mexican side at the

Battle of Cerro Gordo The Battle of Cerro Gordo, or Battle of Sierra Gordo, was an engagement in the Mexican–American War on April 18, 1847. The battle saw Winfield Scott's United States troops outflank Antonio López de Santa Anna's larger Mexican army, driving ...

in 1847. 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 jurisdicti ...

of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). It was signed on 2 February 1848 in the town of Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Guadalupe Hidalgo. After the defeat of its army and the fall of the cap ...

provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Agua Caliente was filed by Mariano G. Vallejo with the

Public Land Commission The California Land Act of 1851 (), enacted following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the admission of California as a state in 1850, established the California State Lands Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican l ...

in 1853, but the Commission rejected the claim for lack of any proof, either of the original grant or of the alleged conveyance from Piña to Vallejo. On appeal in 1861, the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

confirmed the grant to Vallejo and the grant was

patented A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

at in 1880. A claim was filed by C.P. Stone with the Land Commission in 1853 and was patented at in 1880. After the Mexican-American War

Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...

retired from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and bought a part of the rancho in 1853. A claim was filed by Joseph Hooker with the Land Commission in 1853 and was patented at in 1866. Vallejo sold part of the rancho to Thaddeus M. Leavenworth, a Connecticut Episcopalian who was also a physician and druggist. Leavenworth arrived in San Francisco as chaplain of the

1st Regiment of New York Volunteers 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, for service in California and during the war with Mexico, was raised in 1846 during the Mexican–American War by Jonathan D. Stevenson. Accepted by the United States Army in August 1846, the 1st Regiment of Ne ...

in March 1847. He was alcalde of San Francisco in 1848-49, but had difficulties with the military government and was removed from office. A claim was filed by Thaddeus M. Leavenworth with the Land Commission in 1853 and was patented at in 1880.United States. District Court (California : Northern District) Land Case 333 ND
/ref> In 1858, Colonel

Charles V. Stuart Charles V. Stuart (May 9, 1819 – August 13, 1880) was a California pioneer and delegate to the California Constitutional Convention of 1878-79, where he distinguished himself as the only delegate to speak out in defense of the rights of Chinese ...

, purchased part of the rancho and named his ranch Glen Ellen in honor of his wife, Ellen.

Historic sites of the Rancho

* Lachryma Montis. M. G. Vallejo moved from his Casa Grande to this estate on the edge of Sonoma in the early 1850s. He named it "Lachryma Montis" (weeping mountain) after a spring on the property.

References

{{California history Glen Ellen, California Agua Caliente (Pina)