Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros was a

Mexican land grant The Spanish and Mexican governments made many concessions and land grants in Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish Concessions of land were made to retired soldiers as an inducement fo ...

mostly in present day eastern

Contra Costa County, California ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

, and partially into northeastern

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Ala ...

Los Vaqueros Reservoir The Los Vaqueros Reservoir and watershed is located in the northern Diablo Range, within northeastern Contra Costa County, northern California. It was completed by the Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) in to improve the quality of drinking wate ...

, located between Livermore and Brentwood in the

Diablo Range The Diablo Range is a mountain range in the California Coast Ranges subdivision of the Pacific Coast Ranges in northern California, United States. It stretches from the eastern San Francisco Bay area at its northern end to the Salinas Valley ...

, is on and named for the former rancho.

Vasco Road Vasco Road is a roadway over the Diablo Range that connects Livermore and Brentwood, California. Although it is not part of the California State Highway system, it is the principal north–south commuter route serving eastern Alameda and Contra ...

passes through the site. It was given in 1844 by Governor

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general of the Mexican Army, adjutant-general of the same, governor, commandant-general and inspector of the department of Las Californias, t ...

to Antonio Higuera, Francisco Alviso and Manuel Miranda. The name means "Canyon of the Cowboys" in Spanish.

History

Antonio Higuera, Francisco Alviso and Manuel Miranda were granted the four league rancho in 1844. Jose Antonio Higuera (1795– ), who was married to Josefa Antonio Alviso, was the uncle of brothers-in-law Francisco Alviso (1818– ) and Manuel Miranda (1816– ). Francisco Alviso was married to Maria Isabela Miranda, and Manuel Ciriaco Miranda was married to Maria Del Carmen Alviso. In 1847 Alviso and Miranda sold their interests to José Noriega and

Robert Livermore Robert Thomas Livermore, also known as Don Roberto Livermore, (c. 3 November 1799 – 14 February 1858) was an English-born Californian ranchero. He emigrated to Alta California in 1822, eventually becoming a Mexican citizen and a prominent landow ...

who also owned

Rancho Las Positas Rancho Las Positas was a Mexican land grant in present-day Alameda County, California given in 1839 by governor Juan Alvarado to Robert Livermore and José Noriega. Las Positas means "little watering holes" in Spanish. The rancho included ...

to the south. 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 jurisdict ...

of California to the United States following the

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexic ...

, 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 Cañada de los Vaqueros 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 a three-member Public Land Commission to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican l ...

in 1852. In 1854, Livermore and Noriega came to an agreement, where Livermore purchased Noriega's half of Rancho Las Positas and sold his half of Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros to Noriega. This was the beginning of several lawsuits, and the ownership of the property was not resolved until 1897. Noriega hired an attorney, and gave him a half interest in Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros in lieu of fee, and sold the other half to Maximo Fernandez. Both halves of Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros were again sold in separate transactions in 1857. Unknown to Noriega, Livermore had already conveyed his interest in Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros to his wife and children in 1852; so that the deed from Livermore to Noriega in fact conveyed nothing, in as much as Livermore had then no title to convey. When Livermore died in 1858, his widow and children claimed Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros based on the deed predating the Noriega transfer. At the same time, the four children of Antonio Higuera claimed a one third interest in Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros. By 1860, various parties held deeds totaling nearly twice the Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros grant. Finally in 1897 Mary Crocker, heir to Charles McLaughlin, was the owner of the entire rancho. Rancho to Reservoir, Contra Costa Water District

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rancho Canada de los Vaqueros Canada de los Vaqueros Canada de los Vaqueros Canada de los Vaqueros Diablo Range Canada de los Vaqueros

History

See also

References