Rancho Miramontes (also called Arroyo de los Pilarcitos, Miramontes Rancho de San Benito, and Rancho San Benito) was a Mexican land grant in present-day

San Mateo County, California San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City, California, Redwood City is th ...

, given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Juan Jose Candelario Miramontes. Arroyo de los Pilarcitos means "creek of little pillars." The grant extended along the Pacific coast from Pilarcitos Creek and present day

Half Moon Bay Half Moon Bay is a coastal city in San Mateo County, California, San Mateo County, California, United States, approximately south of San Francisco. Its population was 11,795 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Immediately north of Half Mo ...

south past Miramontes Point to Canada Verdes.

History

Juan Jose Candelario Miramontes (1789–1846), came to

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 ...

with his parents in 1797 as part of the first settlers in Branciforte at Santa Cruz. Candelario Miramontes was a military officer at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...

, and he married Maria Guadalupe Briones (1793–1895) in 1808. In 1841 Governor Alvarado granted the one square league Rancho Arroyo de Los Pilarcitos (later called Rancho San Benito) to Juan Jose Candelario Miramontes. Candelario Miramontes remained in San Francisco and died there in 1846. His sons Jose Vicente Miramontes (born 1809) and Rodolfo (born 1820) took up residence on the rancho. With the cession 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 Miramontes was filed with the Public Land Commission 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 Juan Jose Candelario Miramontes in 1882. James P. Johnston (1813–1879), came from Ohio and after making money in the gold fields, returned to San Francisco and acquired an interest in a saloon, and began speculating in real estate. Johnston married

Californio Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

, Petra Maria de Jara in 1852. In 1853, Johnston purchased of Rancho Miramontes from the heirs of Candelario Miramontes. James invited his brothers, John, Thomas, and William to settle on the San Mateo County coast. The Johnston brothers continued to make additional purchases, and by 1859, the Johnston Ranch comprised about half of the original Rancho Miramontes.The James Johnston House
/ref> After the purchase of land, Johnston began building the first wood-framed house along the San Mateo County coast, using a New England–style " saltbox" design – named the James Johnston House.

References

{{California history Miramontes Half Moon Bay, California Miramontes