- Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio
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The Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio was a 26,529-acre (107.36 km2) Spanish land concession to Jose Francisco Ortega in 1794 and is the only Spanish rule land grant in what is today Santa Barbara County, California. A Mexican title was granted to Antonio Maria Ortega in 1834 by Mexican Governor José Figueroa.[1] The grant extended along the Pacific coast from Cojo Canyon east of Point Conception, past Arroyo Hondo and Tajiguas Canyon, to Refugio Canyon, and encompassed present day Gaviota.[2][3]
Contents
History
The Spanish grant was given to José Francisco Ortega, who in 1769 had served as an expedition scout for the Spanish Portola expedition, discovering for the Spanish San Francisco Bay. Ortega played an important role in the founding of the Santa Barbara Presidio in 1782. In 1786, after his retirement, Ortega received approval for the Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugio land grant and established the Ortega Adobe in Refugio Canyon in 1794.[4] The grant was confirmed to Antonio Maria Ortega in 1834 by Mexican Governor Figueroa.
With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Nuestra Señora del Refugiowas filed with the Public Land Commission in 1853,[5] and patented to Antonio Maria Ortega in 1866.[6]
The first sale of lands (i.e., the Gaviota ranch) belonging to Rancho Nuestra Senora del Refugio to non-family members occurred in 1858. In 1866, Thomas B. Dibblee of Rancho San Julian, acquired several parcels originally included in the Rancho, and he eventually owned approximately three-quarters of the original grant. William Welles Hollister purchased the 14,500-acre (59 km2) Hollister Ranch land in 1866. The Dibblee-Hollister partnership owned several land grants in the Santa Barbara area. With the sale of Arroyo Hondo in 1889, all rancho lands had been sold by the Ortega's.[7]
Historic sites of the Rancho
Ortega settlements were also established at Tajiguas Canyon, Arroyo Hondo, and Cañada del Corral. Privateers burned the original ranch building at Refugio Canyon in 1818, but the Ortega adobes at Arroyo Hondo and Canada del Corral still remain.[8]
The adobe at Arroyo Hondo, and a small orchard planted by the padres at the Mission Santa Inés are still present at the Arroyo Hondo Preserve which is now owned and managed by the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County. The ranch at Tajiguas Canyon featured the first lemon orchard planted in California.
See also
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 Nuestra Senora del Refugio
- ^ Santa Barbara County Rancho Map
- ^ Ortega Family
- ^ United States. District Court (California : Southern District) Land Case 154 SD
- ^ Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886
- ^ Hvolboll, E. P., 1990, The property God has given me: A brief history of the Ortega Family's Rancho Nuestra Sefiora del Refugio, Noticias 34(3):45-64.
- ^ Draft Gaviota Coast Feasibility Study & Environmental Assessment study of the National Parks Service, 2003
External links
Categories:- California ranchos
- Ranchos of Santa Barbara County, California
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