Rancho Laguna Seca (also called "Refugio de la Laguna Seca") 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

Santa Clara County, California Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring Sa ...

given in 1834 by Governor

José Figueroa José María Figueroa (1792 – 29 September 1835) was a Californio politician and military leader. He was a General and the Mexican Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835. His ''Manifesto'' (1835) was the first book published in Calif ...

to Juan Alvires. "Laguna Seca" means "Dry Lake" in Spanish, and refers to the seasonal lake,

Laguna Seca Laguna Seca Raceway (branded as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, and previously Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for sponsorship reasons) is a paved Racing track#Motorsport, road racing track in central California used for both auto racing and Motorcyc ...

. The grant extended southward along Coyote Creek from

Rancho Santa Teresa Rancho Santa Teresa was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to José Joaquín Bernal. The grant extended west from Coyote Creek to the Santa Teresa Hills, and included pre ...

and

Coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche Rancho Ojo de Agua de la Coche was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Figueroa to Juan María Hernandez. The name means "pig's spring". The grant extended south from Rancho Lagun ...

and

Morgan Hill Morgan Hill is a city in Santa Clara County, California, at the southern tip of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area. Morgan Hill is an affluent residential community, the seat of several high-tech companies, and a dining and recreation ...

History

Juan Alvires was alcalde of San Jose from 1812-1813, alcalde of Monterey in 1826, and alcalde of San Jose, again, in 1837. The four square league Rancho Laguna Seca was granted to Juan Alvires in 1834. As a result of financial difficulties, Rancho Laguna Seca was sold to William Fisher in 1845. William Gulnac, grantee of Rancho Campo de los Franceses and Fisher's brother-in-law, acted as Fisher's agent. William Fisher (1810-1850) was born in England and settled in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. In 1830 he left as mate on a vessel bound for the West Coast with a load of hides and tallow. He married Liberata Ceseña (1818 - 1905) in 1834 and continued his trading business in Baja California. In 1846 he decided to return, with his family, to Alta California and establish his home in the

Pueblo of San José San Jose, California, is the third largest city in the state, and the largest of all cities in the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern California, with a population of 1,021,795. Site chosen by Anza For thousands of years before the arrival of ...

. William Fisher was offered, but declined, the office of alcalde, probably because of continuing poor health and his involvement in raising cattle on the rancho and operating his mercantile business in San Jose. In 1849, because of deteriorating health, William sold his mercantile store in San Jose to his clerk,

Josiah Belden Josiah Belden (May 4, 1815 – April 23, 1892), known in Spanish as Josías Belden, was a Californian politician and trader. He was born in Connecticut, eventually emigrating to Alta California (then part of Mexico). In California, he became a Me ...

, and returned to the rancho, where he died in 1850, at the age of 40, leaving the rancho to his wife, Liberta Ceseña, and six children. In 1851, Daniel Murphy, the youngest son of Martin Murphy, owner of the adjacent Rancho Ojo del Agua de la Coche married Maria Fisher. In 1882, Diana, their precocious daughter, secretly married Hiram Morgan Hill. In 1851 Liberta Ceseña married Dr. George H. Bull, a medical doctor from

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

. 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 Laguna Seca 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 Liberta Ceseña Bull et al. (heirs of William Fisher) in 1865. A claim was filed by Juan Alvires with the Land Commission in 1853, but was rejected in 1855. Dr. Bull died in 1854. In 1857 Liberta Bull sold her half share () to her son-in-law, Daniel Murphy, and married Caesar Piatti in 1858. In 1858 Daniel Murphy filed a partition suit, resulting in a partition of to Thomas Fisher; to Cipriano Fisher; to W. Fisher; to Eulogia Fisher Rota (wife of Daniel Rota); to Fiacro Fisher; and to Daniel and Mary Murphy. In 1876 Eulogia Fisher sold her portion to Fiacro Fisher. Liberta resided on Rancho Laguna Seca until the death of Caesar Piatti in 1899.

Historic sites of the Rancho

* Rancho del Refugio de la Laguna Seca, Stone Building. Constructed between 1860 and 1880.National Register #78003518
/ref>

References

{{California history Laguna Laguna