Rancho San Francisquito was a Mexican ''

rancho Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California ** List of California Ranchos * Ranchos, Buenos ...

'' or

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

in present-day Santa Clara County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Antonio Buelna. The grant was located on the southwest side of

San Francisquito Creek San Francisquito Creek (Spanish for "Little San Francisco"—the "little" referring to size of the settlement compared to Mission San Francisco de Asís) is a stream, creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United State ...

and today encompasses northern part of the

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

campus. Neighboring ''ranchos'' included Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito to the south, and

Rancho de las Pulgas Rancho de las Pulgas was a 1795 Spanish land grant in present-day San Mateo County, California, to José Darío Argüello. The literal translation is "Ranch of the Fleas," named after the exceptional abundance of fleas in the area. The grant ex ...

to the north, on the other side of San Francisquito Creek. The boundary between Ranchos San Francisquito and de las Pulgas would later define part of the border between Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

History

Antonio Jose Buelna (1 September, 1790–14 November, 1842), son of José Antonio Buelna (1754–1821), married Maria Concepción Valencia (b.1798) in 1816. In 1836,

José Castro José Antonio Castro (1808 – February 1860) was a Californio politician, statesman, and general who served as interim Governor of Alta California and later Governor of Baja California. During the Bear Flag Revolt and the American Conque ...

, Juan Alvarado, Antonio Buelna, and José Antonio de la Guerra (son

José de la Guerra y Noriega José Antonio de la Guerra y Noriega (March 6, 1779 – February 18, 1858) was a Californio military officer, ranchero, and founder of the prominent Guerra family of California. He served as the Commandant of the Presidio of Santa Barbara and the ...

) signed a demand that Governor

Nicolás Gutiérrez Lieutenant Colonel Nicolás Gutiérrez was twice acting governor of the northern part of ''Las Californias'' (what had previously been Alta California) in 1836, from January to May and July to November. Gutiérrez served two short terms as ...

resign. Buelna was granted Rancho San Francisquito and

Rancho San Gregorio Rancho San Gregorio was a Mexican land grant in present day San Mateo County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Antonio Buelna. At the time, the grant was in Santa Cruz County; an 1868 boundary adjustment gave the land t ...

by Alvarado in 1839. When Antonio Buelna died in 1842, María Concepción Valencia married Francisco Rodriguez, a widower and grantee of

Rancho Arroyo del Rodeo Rancho Arroyo del Rodeo was a Mexican land grant in present-day Santa Cruz County, California, USA, given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to Francisco Rodríguez. The grant extended from the Pacific Ocean between Rodeo Creek Gulch on the west ...

. 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 San Francisquito 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 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 María Concepción Valencia de Rodriquez in 1868. By the early 1850s squatters, including Mr. Julian, William J. Little, Thomas Bevins, Jerry Eastin, and Thomas “Sandy” Wilson, had settled on Rancho San Francisquito. A wealthy San Franciscan, George Gordon, bought out the squatters and Buelna heirs in 1863. George Gordon died in 1869, and his wife, Elizabeth, died in 1874, leaving the estate to her brother, John J. Clark. Clark died in 1876 and

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician from Watervliet, New York. He served as the eighth governor of Calif ...

bought , known as the Mayfield Grange Farm, from Clark's widow, Margret T. Clark. The same year, Stanford bought from D. Hoag. By 1891 Stanford had expanded his holdings to , including land from the adjacent Rancho Rincon de San Francisquito.

Historic sites of the Rancho

* Antonio Buelna Adobe. Antonio Buelna Adobe

References

{{California history San Francisquito Menlo Park, California San Francisquito

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References