Rancho Bolsa de las Escorpinas was a 6416 acres (26 km²) Mexican land grant

Ranchos of California

The Spanish, and later the Méxican government encouraged settlement of territory now known as California by the establishment of large land grants called ranchos, from which the English ranch is derived. Devoted to raising cattle and sheep, the owners of the ranchos attempted to pattern themselves...

 in present day Monterey County, California

Monterey County, California

Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...

 given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado   to Salvador Espinoza . The grant was northwest of present day Salinas

Salinas, California

Salinas is the county seat and the largest municipality of Monterey County, California. Salinas is located east-southeast of the mouth of the Salinas River, at an elevation of about 52 feet above sea level. The population was 150,441 at the 2010 census...

, bounded on the south by Espinosa Lake and Rancho Los Gatos or Santa Rita

Rancho Los Gatos or Santa Rita

Rancho Los Gatos or Santa Rita was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José Trinidad Espinoza...

 of his brother Trinidad Espinosa.

History

Salvador Maria Espinoza (1796–) married Maria Josefa Lugarda Castro (1796–1848) in 1814. Espinosa served in a number of public offices in Monterey

Monterey, California

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

 including ]alcade and regidor. He was administrator at Mission Soledad in 1836-1839. He received the two square league Rancho Bolsa de las Escorpinas in 1837. His son, Jose Carlos Cayetano Espinosa, was the grantee of Rancho Posa de los Ositos

Rancho Posa de los Ositos

Rancho Posa de los Ositos was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Carlos Cayetano Espinoza. The name means "the pool of the little bears"...

.

With the cession

Mexican Cession

The Mexican Cession of 1848 is a historical name in the United States for the region of the present day southwestern United States that Mexico ceded to the U.S...

 of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is the peace treaty, largely dictated by the United States to the interim government of a militarily occupied Mexico City, that ended the Mexican-American War on February 2, 1848...

 provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Bolsa de las Escorpinas was filed with the Public Land Commission

Public Land Commission

The Public Land Commission, a former agency of the United States government, was created following the admission of California as a state in 1850 . The Commission's purpose was to determine the validity of prior Spanish and Mexican land grants in California.California Senator William M...

 in 1852, and the grant was patented

Land patent

A land patent is a land grant made patent by the sovereign lord over the land in question. To make a such a grant “patent”, such a sovereign lord must document the land grant, securely sign and seal the document and openly publish the same to the public for all to see...

to Salvador Espinoza in 1876.