Rancho Blucher was a

Mexican land grant In Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California, ranchos were concessions and land grants made by the Spanish and Mexican governments from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an indu ...

in present day Marin and

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 1844 by Governor

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general and adjutant-general of the Mexican Army, List_of_governors_of_California_before_1850#Mexican_governors_of_California_(1837–47), gover ...

Jean Jacques Vioget Jean Jacques Vioget (1794–1855), originally from Switzerland, was a surveyor and sea captain, who came to California in 1837. He made the first survey and map of Yerba Buena (which later was re-named San Francisco) in 1839. He worked for John Su ...

. The rancho is named for the Prussian field marshal

Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (; 21 December 1742 – 12 September 1819), ''Graf'' (count), later elevated to ''Fürst'' (prince) von Wahlstatt, was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal). He earned his greatest ...

. The grant extended along the coast from Estero Americano on the north and to

Estero de San Antonio Estero de San Antonio is a stream in the northern California counties of Marin and Sonoma which empties into Bodega Bay. Course The Estero springs just north of the Marin-Sonoma county line (from a hill overlooking Bloomfield, California) and ...

on the south.

History

Jean Jacques Vioget was a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

sailor and surveyor, who came to California in 1837. He made the first survey and map of Yerba Buena (which later was named San Francisco) in 1839. He worked for

John Sutter John Augustus Sutter (February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880), born Johann August Sutter and known in Spanish as Don Juan Sutter, was a Switzerland, Swiss immigrant who became a Mexican and later an American citizen, known for establishing Sutter ...

. After applying to Governor Juan B. Alvarado for a tract of land in northern Marin, Vioget received a provisional grant in 1842. Governor Micheltorena awarded Vioget full rights to Rancho Blucher in 1844. After his marriage to Maria Benarides de Vasques in 1847, Vioget sold Rancho Blucher to Captain Stephen Smith, grantee of Rancho Bodega directly to the north. 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 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 ...

, 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 Blucher was filed 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 1852, 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 ...

to Stephen Smith in 1858. When Captain Smith died in San Francisco in 1855, he owned the six-square league Rancho Blucher and, with his wife, Manuela Torres, the eight-square league Rancho Bodega. Smith had three children (Stephen Manual Smith, Manuelita Garcia Smith, and James B. Smith) by Manuela Torres. During this time, Smith had two children by

Tsupu Tsupu (–1890), also known as Wild Cucumber, Maria Chekka, and Maria Chica, was a Coast Miwok elder. She was the last native of the ancient village of Petaluma, which was east of the Petaluma River and about three and a half miles northeast of th ...

, one named William Smith.http://www.ranchobodega.org/smith_family.pdf Stephan Smith had four children (Stephen Henry Smith, Giles Smith, Ellen Morrisson and Elvira Pond) by a former marriage.

References

{{California history Blucher