Rancho El Pinole
Rancho El Pinole was a 17,761-acre (71.88 km2) Mexican land grant along Carquinez Strait in present-day Contra Costa County, California.
It was given in 1842 by Governor
History
Ygnacio Martínez (1774–1848) was commandant of the Presidio of San Francisco from 1822–1827, and again from 1828–1832. He was a member of the town council in 1824 and 1827. Martinez retired in 1831.
In 1834 Martinez appealed to Mexican authorities, saying that he had lost his title papers for a land grant made to him by Governor
Martínez did not move his family to the rancho until 1836, living until that time at the
When Martinez died in 1848, his eleven children inherited his property. His daughter, Maria A. Martinez, was married to
Following the
In 1849, William M. Smith established the town site of Martinez on 120 acres (0.5 km2) of the family land grant. Later the heirs of William Welch of the adjacent Rancho Las Juntas, who owned the property on the east side of Arroyo del Hambre (Alhambra Creek), contributed another 500 acres (2.0 km2) to be included in the new town.[8]
In 1865, John Tormey purchased 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) of the Rancho El Pinole from some of the Martinez heirs. Two years later in 1867, John Tormey and his brother Patrick purchased an additional 7,000 acres (28.3 km2) from the Martinez heirs.
The Tormey brothers divided their purchase into two portions. John Tormey took the western half, which encompassed Pinole and additional parts of the Pinole and Briones valleys. Patrick Tormey's share to the north and east included the Rodeo Valley and what would eventually become the towns of Rodeo, Oleum, Selby and Tormey.
Historic sites
- Vicente Martinez Adobe. A two-story adobe ranch house built in 1849 by Ygnacio Martinez's son Vicente J. Martínez. In 1853, Vicente sold the adobe to settler Edward Franklin. The canyon where the house was located was named Franklin Canyon after him. The historic house became known as the Franklin Canyon Adobe.[9]
- Samuel Tennent House. The 1851 home of Dr. Samuel J. Tennent, an early Anglo-American settler in Contra Costa County, who married Ygnacio Martinez’s daughter Rafaela. Through his wife Rafaela's inheritance of part of the land grant, Tennent came to own and control much of the land in the area.
- Fernandez Mansion. This was constructed by Bernardo Fernandez, a Portuguese immigrant who succeeded with his trading facility in the 1850s and built this mansion.[10]
References
- ^ Ogden Hoffman, 1862, Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Numa Hubert, San Francisco
- ^ Diseño del Rancho El Pinole
- ^ J. P. Munro-Fraser, 1882, History of Contra Costa County, California, W.A. Slocum.
- ISBN 978-0-8047-4482-9.
- ^ United States. District Court (California : Northern District) Land Case 205 ND
- ^ Finding Aid to the Documents Pertaining to the Adjudication of Private Land Claims in California, circa 1852-1892
- ^ Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886 Archived 2013-03-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Col. William M. Smith Archived 2009-08-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Vicente Martinez Adobe (California Registered Historical Landmark No. 511) Archived 2009-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bernardo Fernandez House (National Register #73000399)