Rancho Otay 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

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...

, given in 1829 by Governor

José María de Echeandía José María de Echeandía (?–1871) was the Mexican governor of Alta California from 1825 to 1831 and again from 1832 to 1833. He was the only governor of The Californias that lived in San Diego.José Bandini, in a note to Governor Echeandía ...

to Magdelena Estudillo. The grant in the present-day Otay Mesa area, extended along the

Otay River The Otay River () is a river in southern San Diego County, California. The river begins at San Miguel Mountain, flows through the Upper and Lower Otay Reservoirs, and continues on between the southern part of the Chula Vista and the Otay Mesa ...

, just west of

Lower Otay Reservoir Lower Otay Reservoir is a reservoir in San Diego County, California. It is flanked by Otay Mountain to the southeast, the Jamul Mountains to the east, Otay Lakes Road and Upper Otay Reservoir to the north, and the city of Chula Vista to the wes ...

History

The two square league grant was made to Magdalena Estudillo, whose brother,

José Antonio Estudillo José Antonio Estudillo (November 5, 1803 – July 20, 1852) was a Californio ranchero, politician, and soldier, who served as Alcalde of San Diego and as San Diego County Assessor. He was a member of the Estudillo family of California, a prom ...

, was grantee of the adjoining one square league

Rancho Janal Rancho Janal was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California, given in 1829 by Governor José María de Echeandía to José Antonio Estudillo. The grant was located near present day Otay Mesa. A large portion of the grant i ...

. The two grants, both to members of the Estudillo family, are often considered as one rancho. The Estudillos were absentee ranchers, living in

Pueblo de San Diego Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlemen ...

. 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 Otay 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 Magdelena Estudillo in 1872. A separate claim was filed by Victoria Dominguez et al, in 1852 and a Patent was issued to Victoria Dominguez in 1872 for 4,437.16 acres.United States. District Court (California : Southern District) Land Case 226 SD
/ref>

References

{{San Diego County, California Otay Chula Vista, California San Ysidro Mountains Otay

History

See also

References