Rancho Pala

Coordinates: 37°21′36″N 121°48′00″W / 37.360°N 121.800°W / 37.360; -121.800
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Rancho Pala was a 4,454-acre (18.02 km2) Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to José Joaquín Higuera.[1] The origin of the name is the subject of debate. The word "pala" translates as "shovel" in Spanish, but means "water", in many native American dialects. The grant was a narrow strip of land east of San Jose, and extending southward along the foothills from Penitencia Creek to Norwood Avenue.[2][3]

History

The one square league Rancho Pala was granted to José Joaquín Higuera, and was acquired by Charles White.

Charles White (Abt. 1808–1853), a native of

Alviso
to San Francisco on April 11, 1853.

With the

Public Land Commission in 1853,[4][5] and the grant was patented to Ellen White, widow and heirs of Charles White in 1866.[6] A claim for Rancho Pala filed by José Joaquín Higuera with the Land Commission in 1853 was rejected.[7]

Ellen White remarried but at the time of her death in 1887, she was separated from attorney Charles E. Allen. Her estate was left to a son, Charles E. White, a rancher and an attorney, and a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Staples who married Frank X. Staples in 1881. Two other children had died previously.

References

37°21′36″N 121°48′00″W / 37.360°N 121.800°W / 37.360; -121.800