Rancho San Simeon 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 given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Ramón Estrada. The grant extended along the Pacific Coast from

Rancho Piedra Blanca Rancho Piedra Blanca was a large, Ranchos of California, Mexican land grant in present-day San Luis Obispo County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado, Juan Alvarado to José de Jesús Pico. The name means "white rock" ...

at Pico Creek, south along the coast to San Simeon Creek, and includes the present-day townsite of San Simeon Acres.

History

José Ramón Estrada (1811–1845), son of José Mariano Estrada, grantee of Rancho Buena Vista, was born in

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 ...

. Ramón Estrada was administrator of

Mission Santa Clara Mission (from Latin 'the act of sending out'), Missions or The Mission may refer to: Geography Australia *Mission River (Queensland) Canada *Mission, British Columbia, a district municipality *Mission, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * O ...

in 1835 and grantee of Rancho El Toro in 1835. He married Maria Gregoria Castro. He 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 ...

at Monterey in 1836 and prefect of the first district at Monterey 1841–1843. His brother Julian Estrada was granted Rancho Santa Rosa. Originally part of the Mission San Miguel coastal grazing land, the one square league Rancho San Simeon was granted to Estrada in 1842. Shortly before his death in 1845, Estrada sold Rancho San Simeon to José Miguel Gomez, a Mexican priest. 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 Simeon 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 José Miguel Gomez in 1865. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
In 1865,

George Hearst George Hearst (September 3, 1820 – February 28, 1891) was an American businessman, politician, and patriarch of the Hearst family, Hearst business dynasty. After growing up on a small farm in Missouri, he founded many mining operations a ...

(1820–1891), a successful miner during the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

era and later a US Senator, started to acquire land in the area. His first step was to buy most of

and part of Rancho Santa Rosa. In 1867, Hearst bought Rancho San Simeon. The property later passed on to his son

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

. It remains part of the

Hearst Ranch The Hearst Ranch is composed of two cattle ranches in central California. The best known is the original Hearst Ranch, which surrounds Hearst Castle and comprises about . George Hearst (1820–1891) bought over of Rancho Piedra Blanca, an 184 ...

References

{{California history

San Simeon San Simeon ( Spanish: ''San Simeón'', meaning "St. Simon") is an unincorporated community on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Its position along State Route 1 is about halfway between Los Angeles and San ...

Hearst family residences 1842 establishments in Alta California

History

See also

References