Rancho El Toro 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
Monterey County, California
Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county (United States), county located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The count ...
given in 1835 by Governor
José Castro
José Antonio Castro (1808 – February 1860) was a Californio politician, statesman, and general who served as interim Governor of Alta California and later Governor of Baja California. During the Bear Flag Revolt and the American Conque ...
to José Ramón Estrada. The grant extended along Toro Creek south of
Hill Town on the
Salinas River.
History
José Ramón Estrada (1811-1845), son of José Mariano Estrada, grantee of
Rancho Buena Vista, was born in
Monterey
Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census.
The city was fou ...
. Ramón Estrada was administrator of
Mission Santa Clara
Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to:
Geography Australia
*Mission River (Queensland)
Canada
*Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality
*Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
* O ...
in 1835. He received the one and a half square league Rancho El Toro in 1835. Estrada married Maria Gregoria Castro. He was
alcalde
''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...
of Monterey in 1836, and grantee of
Rancho San Simeon
Rancho San Simeon was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Ramón Estrada. The grant extended along the Pacific Coast from Rancho Piedra Blanca at Pico Creek, ...
in 1842. Estrada died in 1845.
Charles Wolter was a German captain of a Mexican vessel, and settled in Monterey in 1833. He married Joséfa Antonia Estrada de Gomez (1813-1890), a daughter of José Mariano Estrada, grantee of
Rancho Buena Vista. Joséfa Antonia Estrada was the sister of José Ramón Estrada, and widow of Rafael Gomez (1784-1838), grantee of
Rancho Tularcitos.
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 El Toro 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 Charles Wolter in 1862.
After the death of Charles Wolter, his widow sold Rancho El Toro to
David Jacks in 1880.
See also
*
Ranchos of California
In Alta California (now known as California) and Baja California, ranchos were concessions and land grants made by the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Spanish and History of Mexico, Mexican governments from 1775 to 1846. The Spanish concessions of l ...
*
List of Ranchos of California
References
External links
Toro County Park
{{California history
El Toro
El T
El Toro