Rancho San Francisquito 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

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

given in 1835 by Governor

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 ...

to Catalina Manzanelli de Munrás. The grant was located in the upper Carmel Valley. As of current day, it is part of The Santa Lucia Preserve, a

gated community A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

and

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

History

The two square league grant was made to Catalina Manzanelli de Munrás who was the wife of Esteban Munrás (1798–1850), a

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 ...

trader, amateur painter, and grantee of Rancho San Vicente. Catalina Manzanelli, the daughter of Maria Casilda Ponce de León and Nicolas Manzanelli, a silk merchant from

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, was also grantee of Rancho Laguna Seca. William Robert Garner(1803–1849), an English ex-whalerman, arrived in Santa Barbara in 1824, and in Monterey in 1828. In 1831, he married Antonia Francisca Butrón (1814–1883), one of the heirs to

Rancho La Natividad Rancho La Natividad was a Mexican land grant in present-day Monterey County, California, United States, given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Manuel Butrón and his son-in-law, Nicolás Alviso. Rancho La Natividad and Rancho Los Vergele ...

. Garner began cutting lumber from the redwoods in the upper Carmel Valley. William Garner bought Rancho San Francisquito. He was killed by Indians in 1849.

José Abrego José Abrego (3 Mar 1813 – 3 April 1878) was a 19th-century Californian merchant. He arrived in Alta California in 1834 as a member of Compania Cosmopolitan A, part of the Hijar-Padrés colony. It was led by José Maria Hijar and Don José ...

was the administrator of Mission San Antonio in 1833 and 1834. In 1836, Abrego married Josefa Estrada (1814–), and in 1841 she bought

Rancho San Jose y Sur Chiquito 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 ...

. José Abrego was the grantee of Rancho Punta de Pinos in 1844 and in 1853 he bought Rancho San Francisquito at the probate sale of William Robert Garner estate. 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, José Abrego filed a claim for Rancho San Francisquito 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 him in 1862. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
On July 18, 1853, Abrego sold the land to Lewis F. Belcher, known as the "Big Eagle of Monterey", an American from New York who has first arrived in Monterey in 1842. In 1858 Bradley Varnum Sargent, who already owned

Rancho Potrero de San Carlos 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 ...

bordering Rancho San Francisquito, bought this land as well. Sargent (1828–1893), born in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, came to California with his three brothers, Jacob L. Sargent (1818–1890), Roswell C. Sargent (1821–1903), and James P. Sargent (1823-1890) in 1849. In 1856 the Sargent brothers bought Rancho Juristac.

References

{{California history, state=collapsed San Francisquito (Munras) San Francisquito Big Sur

History

See also

References