Rancho Pescadero 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 Joaquin County, California and

Alameda County, California Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...

given in 1843 by Governor

Manuel Micheltorena Joseph Manuel María Joaquin Micheltorena y Llano (8 June 1804 – 7 September 1853) was a brigadier general and adjutant-general of the Mexican Army, List_of_governors_of_California_before_1850#Mexican_governors_of_California_(1837–47), gover ...

to Antonio María Pico. Pescadero means "the fishery" or "the place to fish" in Spanish. The grant encompassed present-day Tracy.

History

Antonio María Pico (1809–1869) was a member of the Pico family of California (a prominent

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 ...

family), son of José Dolores Pico, and was stationed in the Pueblo of San José in 1833–1839. His brother, José de Jesús Pico, was the grantee of

Rancho Piedra Blanca Rancho Piedra Blanca was a large, Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado, Juan Alvarado to José de Jesús Pico. The name means "white rock" ...

. Another brother was the bandit

Salomon Pico Salomon may refer to: * Salomon (given name) * Salomon (surname) * Salomon Islands, an atoll of the British Indian Ocean Territory * Salomon Brothers, a former investment bank, now part of Citigroup * Salomon Group, a sporting equipment company * ...

. Antonio María Pico married Maria del Pilar Bernal (1812–1882) in 1831. 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 ...

at San Jose. Pico sold his one fourth share of Rancho Valle de San José to Juan Pablo Bernal. Pico received the eight square league Rancho Pescadero grant in 1843. He took part in the revolt against Governor Micheltorena in 1845, and was a member of the

1849 California Constitutional Convention The California Constitutional Conventions were two separate constitutional conventions that took place in California during the nineteenth century which led to the creation of the modern Constitution of California. The first, known as the 1849 ...

. Antonio María Pico sold half the property to

Henry Morris Naglee Henry Morris Naglee (January 15, 1815 – March 5, 1886) was an American military officer and vintner. He served as a captain in the Mexican-American War, as commanding officer of the California Guards and as a brigadier general in the Union arm ...

(1815–1886) in 1849. 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 Pescadero 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. The claim was rejected by the Commission in 1854, on the grounds that failed grantees failed to perform. But grant was confirmed by the US District Court in 1856, and by the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

; 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 Antonio María Pico and Henry Morris Naglee in 1865. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
Antonio María Pico sold his half the property to

John C. Frémont Major general (United States), Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He was a United States senator from California and was the first History of the Repub ...

in 1852. The grant was soon occupied by squatters and Frémont sold it in 1867 to Charles McLaughlin, who owned the adjacent Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros.

References

{{California history Pescadero Pescadero Pescadero