Rancho San Jacinto Viejo was a Mexican land grant in present-day

Riverside County, California Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...

given in 1842 by Governor Pro-tem Manuel Jimeno to

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 ...

. At the time of the US Patent, Rancho San Jacinto Viejo was a part of

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

. The County of Riverside was created by the California Legislature in 1893 by taking land from both

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

and San Diego Counties. The grant encompassed present-day Hemet and San Jacinto.

History

José María Estudillo José María Estudillo (died April 8, 1830) was a Spanish-born Californio military officer and early settler of San Diego. He is the founder of the Estudillo family of California and served as Commandant of the Presidio of San Diego. Life List o ...

was the captain of the

Presidio of San Diego El Presidio Real de San Diego (Royal Presidio of San Diego) is a historic fort in San Diego, California. It was established on May 14, 1769, by Gaspar de Portolá, leader of the first European land exploration of Alta California—at that time a ...

. His eldest son, José Joaquín Estudillo (1800 – 1852) was the grantee of Rancho San Leandro. José Antonio Estudillo (1805 – 1852) was his second son. In 1824, José Antonio Estudillo, a lieutenant in the Mexican army, married María Victoria Dominguez. María Victoria's father, Juan José Dominguez, was the grantee of

Rancho San Pedro Rancho San Pedro was one of the first California land grants and the first to win a patent from the United States. The Spanish Crown granted the of land to soldier Juan José Domínguez in 1784, with his descendants validating their legal clai ...

. José Antonio Estudillo was appointed administrator and major domo at Mission San Luis Rey in 1840. Three grants, comprising over of the former Mission San Luis Rey lands in the San Jacinto area were made to the Estudillo family: the four square league Rancho San Jacinto Viejo to José Antonio Estudillo in 1842;

Rancho San Jacinto Nuevo y Potrero Rancho San Jacinto Nuevo y Potrero was a Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day Riverside County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Miguel Pedrorena. At the time of the US Patent, Rancho San Jacinto Nuevo y Pot ...

to his son-in-law,

Miguel Pedrorena Don Miguel de Pedrorena (c. 1808–March 21, 1850) was a Spanish-born Californio ranchero, merchant, and a signer of the California Constitution in 1849. He also served briefly as acting List of pre-statehood mayors of San Diego, Alcalde of San Di ...

, in 1846; and Rancho San Jacinto Sobrante to his daughter, María del Rosario Estudillo, in 1846. 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 Jacinto Viejo 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 the heirs of José Antonio Estudillo in 1880. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886

References

{{California history San Jacinto Viejo San Jacinto Mountains Hemet, California 1842 establishments in Alta California San Jacinto, California

History

See also

References