Month: October 2006

(Photo: County Supervisor Alexander Gordon became one of the defendants in the San Gregorio Rancho case. This 1870s illustration was made on site, showing “Gordon’s Chute” at Tunitas Creek, the countryside and Gordon’s home]

The most notorious legal contest was yet to come as the “famous San Gregorio Rancho case” was brought before the San Francisco Superior Court in 1872. Who were the legal owners?

The “San Gregorio Rancho case” dragged on for a decade and affected prominent men–among them County Supervisor Alexander Gordon who built the fantastic, but ill-fated, “Gordon’s [shipping] chute” at Tunitas Chute.

Judge Hunt unraveled the convoluted events and found that Antonino Buelna left a will granting two minor heirs a fifth interest in the Rancho San Gregorio. These heirs sold their interest to Hugh Hamilton–who then resold it. Later, ignoring the sale to Hamilton, the heirs sold their interest again!

The whole thing was finally settled in favor of the defendants, including Alexander Gordon.

Attached to the original, yellowed document that relates the story I just told you–is label that reads: “1247 San Gregorio R. formerly Santa Cruz County now in San Mateo Co.” Perhaps this document was entered as evidence in the famous San Gregorio Rancho case.

Possibly it was simply a detailed records of land transactions of the Rancho San Gregorio. The document covers critical years in California and Coastside history. California became a state and the rancheros were driven out…..

Photo: San Mateo County History Museum. Please visit the museum’s new exhibits at the historic Redwood City Courthouse in Redwood City.

Francisco Casanueva, the Chilean businessman, divided the rancho into parcels sold to Americans including James Bell, Henry Wilkins nd Hugh Hamilton.

Hamilton is credited as an early American settler. He lived in a large frame house that once stood on the north bank of San Gregorio creek. An 1860 official survey map shows a fence belonging to him. It is also said tht when he arrived in San Gregorio he “saw tht the land was mixed-up,” perhaps implying that he knew title to property there was not clear.

James Bell– whose descendants went into the hotel business in San Gregorio–was a highly respected pioneer who had a post office called Bellvale named in his honor.

In the early 1860s Concepcion received her patent from the Land Commission in San Francisco–but it was too late as the land had changed into the hands of the Americans.

…To Be Continued….

In 1839, California Governor Alvarado granted four- square leagues of the Rancho San Gregorio to Antonino Buelna—who was busy “fighting Indians and foreigners in the San Joaquin.â€?

Life seemed uncomplicated and no one bothered with the details of an official land survey. The Rancho San Gregorio was simply described as being bordered “on the west by the Arroyo de los Lobitos, on the north by the Sierra Grande, on the east by the land owned or claimed by Fran Gonzales and on the south by the Pacific Ocean.â€?

Seven years later in 1846– after Mexico went to war with the United States—Antonino Buelna died, leaving a widow and a daughter…but according to the document, Buelna’s last will did not clearly specify how the estate was to be dispersed. That could have delayed legal transfer of the property but it did not stop hasty and questionable land transactions.

Buelna’s relatives sold pieces of the valuable property—their names appear on the document.

In the interim, Antonino’s widow, Concepcion, married Francisco Rodriquez. In 1851, Rodriquez failed to pay $118.12, the amount of state and county taxes due on the rancho. As a result of non-payment, the rancho went up for sale at a public auction. Strangely, the highest bidders—William Baker of Massachusetts and his attorney J. L. Majors—picked up the rancho for a scant $118.12, the exact amount of taxes due.

Baker and Majors turned around and sold the land to Chilean businessman Francisco Casanueva for $10,000.

The yellowing document revealed yet another transaction, this time between Buelna’s widow, Concepcion, and the Chilean businessman.

Confused? So am I.

Concepcion also applied for a patent on the rancho from the U.S. Land Commission Secretary in San Francisco.

Is it possible that the same land was sold twice? As to whatever actually happened and who paid whom, and for what reasons, the document paints a confusing picture.

…To be Continued…

(Photo: The gateway to early San Gregorio).

Is it possible that the same land was sold twice? As to whatever actually happened—and who paid whom—and for whatever reasons—an intriguing document painted a confusing picture.

The document revealed the handwriting of one person using pen and ink on legal-sized paper. The paper had yellowed and turned brittle with age and a chunk had been chewed out of the right margin. A heavy-duty string bound the fragile papers together.

The folder contained “evidenceâ€? of a confusing story that pointed to shady dealings over the ownership and sale of the original 17,800-acre Rancho San Gregorio, south of Half Moon Bay.

Covered were transactions occurring between 1853 and 1861—a tumultuous period in California’s history when land was fast changing hands from the rancheros to the American gringos.

…To Be Continued…

Photo: San Mateo County History Museum located in the historic Redwood City Courthouse.. Please visit the museum and research your favorite subject in the archives.