Rancho Bosquejo
Encyclopedia
Rancho Bosquejo was a 22206 acres (89.9 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Tehama County, California
given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
to Peter Lassen
. The name means "Wooded Ranch" in Spanish. The grant extended along the east bank of the Sacramento River
south of Rancho Rio de los Molinos
and Toomes Creek, and encompassed present day Vina
on Deer Creek.
, and immigrated to the United States in 1829. Ten years later he traveled to Oregon
, and by 1840 he had made his way to California, where he worked for John Sutter
. After becoming a Mexican citizen in 1844, Lassen's five square league land grant, Rancho Bosquejo, was approved. Lassen built a home on his land, and had livestock and planted crops by late 1845. In 1845, Lassen invited William B. Ide
to come to his ranch and build a sawmill. Shortly later, after a misunderstanding, Ide moved north to Rancho Barranca Colorado
.
On the south side of Deer Creek, in 1845, Lassen laid out a townsite, calling it "Benton City", in honor of Senator Thomas Benton
from Missouri
, whose daughter, Jessie Benton
, married General John C. Frémont
. Frémont and some of his men visited Lassen's ranch in 1846.
In 1847 Lassen, as a part of Commodore Robert F. Stockton
's party, returned to Missouri, in hope of encouraging emigrants to settle at Benton City. Prior to his 1847 departure, Lassen deeded over the land he owned north of Deer Creek (one-fifth of his ranch) to his ranch manager Daniel Sill. In 1848, Lassen brought back a small group of emigrants from Missouri over the Lassen Trail; also bringing with him the first Masonic charter into California. When Lassen arrived back at Benton City he found it nearly vacated, the settlers having left to join the Gold Rush
.
Seeking to profit from the gold rush, in 1850, Lassen sold two-thirds of his land to partners General John Wilson and Joel Palmer. Palmer never performed, and Wilson transferred Palmer's share to Charles L. Wilson. Lassen, leaving the other third in the care of others, went to San Francisco to purchase a stern-wheel steamboat, the "Lady Washington". The trip from Sacramento
to the mouth of Deer Creek, took the "Lady Washington" about five months to complete. The boat encountered numerous problems with sand bars and snag trees on the Sacramento River and was sunk.
While Lassen was on the river to Deer Creek, his cattle were stolen. Wilson and Palmer to whom he sold part of his ranch had not paid him. With the sinking of the "Lady Washington", the departure of settlers for the gold mines, and other financial problems, Lassen was forced to sell his remaining one-third interest in the rancho together with his claim against Wilson and Palmer to Henry Gerke in 1852. Lassen had become convinced of the existence of Gold Lake and he organized an expedition to find it. Lassen was killed in 1859 under strange circumstances near what is now Clapper Creek in the Black Rock Range
in Nevada
.
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 Bosquejo was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1852, and the grant was patented
to Peter Lassen in 1862.
A claim filed by Harriet Sill Besse (1828–1887) with the Land Commission in 1853 was rejected.
Henry Gerke (1810–1882), a German immigrant and a prominent San Francisco businessman, expanded the vineyard and operated a successful wine and brandy business. Gerke sold Rancho Bosquejo to Leland Stanford
in 1881. Stanford created the Vina Ranch with the world’s largest vineyard and winery among other enterprises. The vineyards eventually covered 3575 acres (14 km²), but in the intemperate climate the vines provided poor wine, and brandy became the principal product. Stanford died in 1893 and the property was deeded to Stanford University
, which sold it off piecemeal, with the final 200 acre (0.809372 km²) selling in 1919. Trappist monks now occupy remnants of the homestead.
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 Tehama County, California
Tehama County, California
Tehama County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. It is bisected by the Sacramento River. As of 2010 its population was 63,463, up from 56,039 as of 2000. The county seat is Red Bluff.-History:...
given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
to Peter Lassen
Peter Lassen
Peter Lassen was a Danish-American blacksmith, rancher, prospector and Freemason.-Early life:Peter Lassen was born on October 31, 1800 in Farum, Denmark and immigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in 1830...
. The name means "Wooded Ranch" in Spanish. The grant extended along the east bank of the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
south of Rancho Rio de los Molinos
Rancho Rio de los Molinos
Rancho Rio de los Molinos was a Mexican land grant in present day Tehama County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Albert Gallatin Toomes. "Rio de los Molinos" means "River of the Mills"...
and Toomes Creek, and encompassed present day Vina
Vina, California
Vina is a census-designated place in Tehama County, California. Vina sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Vina's population was 237....
on Deer Creek.
History
Peter Lassen (1800–1859) was born in DenmarkDenmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and immigrated to the United States in 1829. Ten years later he traveled to Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and by 1840 he had made his way to California, where he worked for John Sutter
John Sutter
Johann Augus Sutter was a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush by the discovery of gold by James W. Marshall and the mill making team at Sutter's Mill, and for establishing Sutter's Fort in the area that would eventually become Sacramento, the...
. After becoming a Mexican citizen in 1844, Lassen's five square league land grant, Rancho Bosquejo, was approved. Lassen built a home on his land, and had livestock and planted crops by late 1845. In 1845, Lassen invited William B. Ide
William B. Ide
William Brown Ide was a California pioneer and Commander of the short-lived California Republic.-Life:...
to come to his ranch and build a sawmill. Shortly later, after a misunderstanding, Ide moved north to Rancho Barranca Colorado
Rancho Barranca Colorado
Rancho Barranca Colorado was a Mexican land grant in present day Tehama County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Josiah Belden. The name means "Ranch of the Red Bluffs". The grant was on the west bank of the Sacramento River and bounded Red Bank Creek on the north,...
.
On the south side of Deer Creek, in 1845, Lassen laid out a townsite, calling it "Benton City", in honor of Senator Thomas Benton
Thomas Hart Benton (senator)
Thomas Hart Benton , nicknamed "Old Bullion", was a U.S. Senator from Missouri and a staunch advocate of westward expansion of the United States. He served in the Senate from 1821 to 1851, becoming the first member of that body to serve five terms...
from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, whose daughter, Jessie Benton
Jessie Benton Frémont
Jessie Ann Benton Frémont was an American writer and political activist.Notably remembered for being the daughter of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton and the wife of military officer, explorer and politician, John C. Frémont, she wrote many stories that were printed in popular magazines of the...
, married General John C. Frémont
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
. Frémont and some of his men visited Lassen's ranch in 1846.
In 1847 Lassen, as a part of Commodore Robert F. Stockton
Robert F. Stockton
Robert Field Stockton was a United States naval commodore, notable in the capture of California during the Mexican-American War. He was a naval innovator and an early advocate for a propeller-driven, steam-powered navy. Stockton was from a notable political family and also served as a U.S...
's party, returned to Missouri, in hope of encouraging emigrants to settle at Benton City. Prior to his 1847 departure, Lassen deeded over the land he owned north of Deer Creek (one-fifth of his ranch) to his ranch manager Daniel Sill. In 1848, Lassen brought back a small group of emigrants from Missouri over the Lassen Trail; also bringing with him the first Masonic charter into California. When Lassen arrived back at Benton City he found it nearly vacated, the settlers having left to join the Gold Rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
.
Seeking to profit from the gold rush, in 1850, Lassen sold two-thirds of his land to partners General John Wilson and Joel Palmer. Palmer never performed, and Wilson transferred Palmer's share to Charles L. Wilson. Lassen, leaving the other third in the care of others, went to San Francisco to purchase a stern-wheel steamboat, the "Lady Washington". The trip from Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
to the mouth of Deer Creek, took the "Lady Washington" about five months to complete. The boat encountered numerous problems with sand bars and snag trees on the Sacramento River and was sunk.
While Lassen was on the river to Deer Creek, his cattle were stolen. Wilson and Palmer to whom he sold part of his ranch had not paid him. With the sinking of the "Lady Washington", the departure of settlers for the gold mines, and other financial problems, Lassen was forced to sell his remaining one-third interest in the rancho together with his claim against Wilson and Palmer to Henry Gerke in 1852. Lassen had become convinced of the existence of Gold Lake and he organized an expedition to find it. Lassen was killed in 1859 under strange circumstances near what is now Clapper Creek in the Black Rock Range
Black Rock Range
The Black Rock Range is a mountain range in northwestern Nevada. It is named for Black Rock Point, which is located at the southern end of the range. The Black Rock Range divides the Black Rock Desert into eastern and western arms...
in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
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 Bosquejo 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 Peter Lassen in 1862.
A claim filed by Harriet Sill Besse (1828–1887) with the Land Commission in 1853 was rejected.
Henry Gerke (1810–1882), a German immigrant and a prominent San Francisco businessman, expanded the vineyard and operated a successful wine and brandy business. Gerke sold Rancho Bosquejo to Leland Stanford
Leland Stanford
Amasa Leland Stanford was an American tycoon, industrialist, robber baron, politician and founder of Stanford University.-Early years:...
in 1881. Stanford created the Vina Ranch with the world’s largest vineyard and winery among other enterprises. The vineyards eventually covered 3575 acres (14 km²), but in the intemperate climate the vines provided poor wine, and brandy became the principal product. Stanford died in 1893 and the property was deeded to Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, which sold it off piecemeal, with the final 200 acre (0.809372 km²) selling in 1919. Trappist monks now occupy remnants of the homestead.