Rancho Guenoc 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 ...

in present-day

Lake County, California Lake County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 68,163. The county seat is Lakeport. The county takes its name from Clear Lake, the dominant geographic f ...

given in 1845 by Governor

Pio Pico Pio may refer to: Places * Pio Lake, Italy * Pio Island, Solomon Islands * Pio Point, Bird Island, south Atlantic Ocean People * Pio (given name) * Pio (surname) * Pio (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer * Pio (footballer, born 1 ...

to George Rock. Rancho Guenoc was one of three land grants (along with

Rancho Lupyomi Rancho Lupyomi (also called "Laguna de Lup Yomi") was a Mexican land grant in present-day Lake County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Salvador Vallejo and his brother Juan Antonio Vallejo. Rancho Lupyomi encompassed pr ...

and Rancho Collayomi) in Lake County. Lake County was formed in 1861 of land taken mainly from

Napa County Napa County () is a county north of San Pablo Bay located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 138,019. The county seat is the City of Napa. Napa County was one of the original c ...

and the northwest portion taken from

Mendocino County Mendocino County (; ''Mendocino'', Spanish for "of Mendoza) is a county located on the North Coast of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 91,601. The county seat is Ukiah. Mendocino County consists wholly ...

. Rancho Guenoc encompassed essentially all of Coyote Valley including Guenoc, stretching from the range of low mountains just north of Middletown to what is now the southern end of Spruce Grove Road, and from the most westerly curve of

Putah Creek Putah Creek (Patwin: ''Liwaito'') is a major stream in Northern California, a tributary of the Yolo Bypass, and ultimately, the Sacramento River. The creek has its headwaters in the Mayacamas Mountains, a part of the Coast Range, and flows ...

eastward and dipping south to encompass what became the Guenoc winery and vineyards.

History

Rancho Guenoc was six square league land grant encompassing essentially all of Coyote Valley. George Rock (also known as George Roche and probably George La Roche) was born about 1785 in Canada and died after 1850. He lived at Guenoc from about 1848, as agent for Jacob P. Leese. In 1850 Rock built a log cabin in the area where the Stone House is now. George Rock by deed dated 13 Jan 1847 and witnessed by Richard Fowler and Andrew Hoppener, sold Rancho Guenoc to Jacob P. Leese (1809-1892). Leese was a trader from Ohio who had married María Rosalia Vallejo, sister of General Vallejo, and was the owner of the adjacent Rancho Collayomi. Leese evidently abandoned the claim, and Rancho Guenoc was taken over by Captain Archibald Alexander Ritchie and Paul S. Forbes in 1852. 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 Guenoc 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, 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 p ...

to Archibald A. Ritchie and Paul S. Forbes in 1865. Ritchie was killed in an accident in 1856. Paul Forbes sold his share of both Rancho Guenoc and Rancho Collayomi to one of Ritchie's sons-in-law, Gen. M.D.L. Simpson, in 1867. The following year, Simpson deeded half the lands to Ritchie's wife, Martha and children. The heirs began selling portions of the properties in the early 1870s. In 1888, the British actress

Lillie Langtry Emilie Charlotte, Lady de Bathe (née Le Breton, formerly Langtry; 13 October 1853 – 12 February 1929), known as Lillie (or Lily) Langtry and nicknamed "The Jersey Lily", was a British socialite, stage actress and producer. Born on the isl ...

, purchased a of Rancho Guenoc to raise racehorses and grapes.Magoon, G. S., 1976, ''The story of Guenoc Ranch, Lake and Napa Counties, California''

Historic sites of the Rancho

* Stone House (CA Registered Landmark #450)

References

External links

Diseño del Rancho Guenoc
at

The Bancroft Library The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...

{{California history Guenoc Ranchos of Lake County, California

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References

External links