Rancho San Miguelito 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 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Miguel Ávila, and an addition granted in 1846 by Governor

Pio Pico Pio or PIO may refer to: Places * Pio Lake, Italy * Pio Island, Solomon Islands * Pio Point, Bird Island, south Atlantic Ocean People * Pio (given name) * Pio (surname) * Pio (footballer, born 1986), Brazilian footballer * Pio (footballer, ...

. The grant extended along the Pacific coast, and included Point San Luis, San Luis Obispo Bay, and present day Avila Beach.

History

Miguel Avila (1796 – 1874) was a son of Jose de Santa Ana Avila, a Spanish soldier stationed at the

presidio of Santa Barbara El Presidio Real de Santa Bárbara, also known as the Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara, is a former military installation in Santa Barbara, California, United States. The presidio was built by Spain in 1782, with the mission of defending the Span ...

. In 1816 Miguel Avila was in the Monterey company, and in 1824 he was corporal of the guard at

Mission San Luis Obispo Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa () is a Spanish missions in California, Spanish mission founded September 1, 1772 by Father Junípero Serra in San Luis Obispo, California. The mission was named after Saint Louis of Toulouse, San Luis, obispo d ...

. In 1826 he was transferred to

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 ...

for quarreling with the mission priests. In Monterey, he married Maria Inocenta Pico (1810-), daughter of Jose Dolores Pico. Avila was granted Rancho San Miguelito in 1842. Miguel Avila was

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 ...

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 ...

in 1849. 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. A claim for Rancho San Miguelito, filed as required by the Land Act of 1851, 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 was confirmed. Another claim by Miguel Avila for an addition to Rancho San Miguelito filed with the Land Commission in 1852 was also confirmed. A third claim by Miguel Avila for a two square league addition to Rancho San Miguelito filed with the Land Commission in 1852 was rejected. 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 Miguel Avila in 1877. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886

Historic sites of the Rancho

San Luis Obispo Lighthouse

References

{{California history San Miguelito

History

Historic sites of the Rancho

See also

References