Rancho San Luisito 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 Luis Obispo County, California San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a County (United States), county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo ...

given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José de Guadalupe Cantúa. The grant between

Morro Bay Morro Bay (''Morro'', Spanish for "Hill") is a seaside city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast of California, the city's population was 10,757 as of the 2020 census, up from 10,234 at the 2010 ...

and

San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

, extended along San Luisito Creek and Chorro Creek and encompassed Hollister Peak.

History

Ygnacio Cantua, came to Alta California as a soldier on the

De Anza Expedition Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6 or 7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a Novohispanic/Mexican expeditionary leader, military officer, and politician primarily in California and New Mexico under the Spanish Empire. He is credited as on ...

in 1774, and was one of the original settlers in San Juan Bautista, arriving in 1788. His son, José de Guadalupe Cantúa (1786–) served in the army stationed at San Juan Bautista and lead the party that first explored Arroyo Cantúa area. Cantua Creek is named in his honor. Two of Guadalupe Cantúa's sons, Lupe and Domingo, were members of the California bandit

Joaquin Murrieta Joaquin Murrieta Carrillo (sometimes misspelled Murieta or Murietta) (c. 1829 – July 25, 1853), also called the Robin Hood of the West or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a Mexicans, Mexican figure of disputed historicity. The novel ''The Lif ...

's gang and lived at Arroyo Cantúa. His daughter, Maria Guadalupe Cantua married Jose Hermenegildo Vásquez and their son was

Tiburcio Vásquez Tiburcio Vásquez (April 11, 1835 – March 19, 1875) was a Californio Outlaw, ''bandido'' who was active in California from 1854 to 1874. The Vasquez Rocks, north of Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, were one of his many hideouts and are n ...

, another famous California bandit. 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 The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, 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 Luisito 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 Guadalupe Cantua in 1860. In 1859, Cantua sold part (1860 Census shows Cantua, his wife and three Indian servants living on 1,000 acres of the Rancho) of Rancho San Luisito to captain John (Juan) Wilson (1797 – 1861), a Scottish-born sea captain and trader, came to California in 1830. He is referenced as the captain of the Ayacucho in Richard Henry Dana's ''

Two Years Before the Mast ''Two Years Before the Mast'' is a memoir by the American author Richard Henry Dana Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage from Boston to California on a merchant ship starting in 1834. A Two Years Before the Mast ...

'', as is his ownership of this rancho and his marriage to Doña Ramona. In 1837, Wilson married María Ramona Carrillo de Pacheco (1812 – 1888), widow of José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco, who was killed at the

Battle of Cahuenga Pass The Battle of Cahuenga Pass of 1831 was fought at Cahuenga Pass near Los Angeles between the unpopular Mexican Governor of California ( Manuel Victoria), and a force assembled by wealthy local landowners. Only two men, the lancer Pacheco on ...

in 1831. Carrillo was a daughter of

María Ygnacia López de Carrillo Doña María Ygnacia López de Carrillo (January 31, 1793 – February 28, 1849) was a Californio ranchera. She was the founder of Santa Rosa, California, Santa Rosa. She married into the prominent Carrillo family of California and was the a ...

, the grantee of Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa. María's sister married General

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (July 4, 1807 – January 18, 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the tran ...

. María Ramona Carrillo de Pacheco was the grantee of Rancho Suey. Wilson was the grantee of Rancho Los Guilicos in Sonoma County. John Wilson and his business partner, James (Diego) Scott (-1851), also owned Rancho El Chorro and

Rancho Cañada de los Osos y Pecho y Islay 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 ...

. In 1845, Wilson moved his family from San Luis Obispo to Rancho Cañada de los Osos & Pacheco y Islay, built an adobe home and lived there until his death in 1860. After the 1862-4 drought, Rancho San Luisito was sold to

William Welles Hollister William Welles Hollister (1818–1886) was a native of Ohio who came west in the 1850s and became a wealthy rancher and entrepreneur in California. Biography Ancestors and early life William Welles Hollister, was born on Jan. 12, 1818 near Han ...

Historic sites of the Rancho

*Hollister Adobe. Guadalupe Cantua added on to the San Luisito Adobe in 1841 and portions of the adobe still stand on the

Cuesta College Cuesta College is a Public college, public community college in San Luis Obispo County, California. History The first community college in the San Luis Obispo area was founded in 1916 as a San Luis Obispo High School division. It lasted until 1 ...

campus. It is now known as the Hollister Adobe as the Joseph Hollister family moved to this ranch and into the adobe in 1866.

References

{{California history San Luisito San Luis Obispo, California 1841 establishments in Alta California

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References