Rancho San Carlos de Jonata 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 Barbara County, California Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a County (United States), county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, California ...

given in 1845 by Governor

Pío Pico Don (honorific), Don Pío de Jesús Pico IV (May 5, 1801 – September 11, 1894) was a California politician, ranchero, and entrepreneur, famous for serving as the List of governors of California before 1850, last governor of Alta California und ...

to Joaquín Carrillo and Jose Maria Covarrubias. The grant was west of

Mission Santa Inés Mission Santa Inés (sometimes spelled Santa Ynez) was a Spanish mission in present-day Solvang, California, United States, and named after St. Agnes of Rome. Founded on September 17, 1804, by Father Estévan Tapís of the Franciscan order, t ...

in the

Santa Ynez Valley The Santa Ynez Valley ( Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Ynez'') is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley f ...

, and extended north from the

Santa Ynez River The Santa Ynez River is one of the largest rivers on the Central Coast, California, Central Coast of California. It is long, ArcExplorer Geographic information system, GIS data viewer. flowing from east to west through the Santa Ynez Valley, re ...

along Zaca Creek. The grant encompasses present-day Solvang and Buellton.

History

José Joaquin Carrillo (1801–1868) was the son of Domingo Antonio Ygnacio Carrillo (1791–1837) and Maria Concepcion Nicanor Pico (1797–1871). Joaquin Carrillo married Manuela Carrillo and served as Santa Barbara County Judge from 1851–1853, a position later held by José María Covarrubias from 1861–1863. Joaquín Carrillo owned with his brother

Rancho Lompoc Rancho Lompoc was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Barbara County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Joaquín Carrillo and José Antonio Carrillo. The grant extended from present-day Lompoc west to the Pacific co ...

and Rancho Mission Vieja de la Purisma. José María Covarrubias (c. 1809 – 1870), a Frenchman who became a Mexican citizen and came to California in 1834 with the Hijar-Padres Colony to be a schoolteacher. Covarrubias held several key government posts in

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 ...

and Santa Barbara. Covarrubias married María Carrillo, sister of Joaquín Carrillo. He served as

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 Santa Barbara. In 1843 Covarrubias received the Rancho Castac land grant. Covarrubias 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 ...

, and member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

for four terms 1849–1862. In 1850, Covarrubias bought the Island of Santa Catalina land grant from Thomas M. Robbins. 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 the six square league Rancho San Carlos de Jonata 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 1853, and the grant was patented to Joaquín Carrillo and José M. Covarrubias in 1872. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
Rufus Thompson (R.T.) Buell (1827-1905) was born in Vermont. In 1853 Buell joined the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

, but by 1857 was dairy farming in

Marin County Marin County ( ) is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is ac ...

, and in 1865,

Monterey County Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is ...

. In 1866, R.T. Buell and his brother, Alonzo Wilcox Buell, bought a quarter of Rancho San Carlos de Jonata from Joaquín Carrillo and José M. Covarrubias. By 1872 R.T had bought the entire Rancho, and dissolved the partnership with his brother Alonzo. A severe drought forced Buell to sell of the rancho in the 1870s. This property was sold in 1911 to the Danish American Company to establish a Danish colony called " Solvang". The remaining rancho was partitioned among his seven heirs upon his death in 1915.

References

External links

Ranchos of Santa Barbara County Map
{{Santa Ynez River San Carlos de Jonata Santa Ynez Valley 1845 establishments in Alta California

History

See also

References

External links