Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa was an 8885 acres (36 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 Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....

  given in 1841 by Governor pro tem Manuel Jimeno to María Ygnacia López. The grant was along Santa Rosa Creek

Santa Rosa Creek

Santa Rosa Creek is a 22 mile long stream in Sonoma County, California which rises on Hood Mountain and discharges to the Laguna de Santa Rosa by way of the Santa Rosa Flood Control Channel...

, and encompassed present day Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa, California

Santa Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...

.

History

María Ygnacia de la Candelaria López (1793–1849 ) married Joaquin Victor Carrillo (1793–1835) in San Diego

San Diego, California

San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

 in 1809. When Carrillo died in 1835, three of their twelve children were already married: Maria Antonia (known as Josefa) to Henry D. Fitch

Henry D. Fitch

Henry Delano Fitch was an early settler of San Diego, California.-Life:Henry D. Fitch was born 1799 in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was a sea captain and trader...

, Maria Ramona to José Antonio Romualdo Pacheco, and Francisca Benicia to Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...

. María Ygnacia Lopez de Carrillo and her 9 unmarried children left San Diego in 1837 and moved to Sonoma, California

Sonoma, California

Sonoma is a historically significant city in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, surrounding its historic town plaza, a remnant of the town's Mexican colonial past. It was the capital of the short-lived California Republic...

 where her daughter Francisca Benicia Carrillo (1815-1891) lived with her husband General Vallejo. General Vallejo was a critical factor in obtaining the two square league grant in 1841.

Eldest son, Joaquin Carrillo (1820–1899 ), was granted Rancho Llano de Santa Rosa

Rancho Llano de Santa Rosa

Rancho Llano de Santa Rosa was an Mexican land grant in present day Sonoma County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Joaquín Carrillo. The name means "Plains of Santa Rosa"...

 just west of his mother's property 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...

 in 1844. Son Juan Bautista (1825–1841) died of poisoning. Daughter María de la Luz Esquatuia Carrillo (1814–1893) married her brother-in-law Salvador Vallejo and set up her home in Sonoma. María López Carrillo died in 1849 and was buried at Mission San Francisco Solano

Mission San Francisco Solano

Mission San Francisco Solano was founded on July 4, 1823, and named for Francis Solanus, a missionary to the Indians of Peru born in Montilla, Spain, known as the "Wonder Worker of the New World." Originally planned as an asistencia to Mission San Rafael Arcángel, it is the northernmost Alta...

 in Sonoma.

Seven claims for Rancho Cabeza de Santa Rosa were 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.

Land Case No. (Northern District ND)	Claimant	Notes	Patented area	Patent Date
Land Case 124 ND	Julio Maria Tomas Carrillo	Son Julio Maria Tomas Carrillo (1824–1889) inherited the bulk of the grant.	4500 acres (18.2 km²)	1866
Land Case 125 ND	Juana de Jesús Mallagh	Daughter Juana de Jesús (1829– ) married sea captain David Mallagh.	256 acres (1 km²)	1879
Land Case 126 ND	James Eldridge	Eldridge, California Eldridge, California Eldridge is a census-designated place in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,233 at the 2010 census. It is notably the home to the Sonoma Developmental Center, the largest facility serving the needs of persons with developmental disabilities in the...  is named James Eldridge	1668 acres (6.8 km²)	1880
Land Case 127 ND	Felicidad Carrillo de Castro	Daughter Felicidad Carrillo (1833 - 1856) married Victor Castro.	336 acres (1.4 km²)	1881
Land Case 128 ND	Jacob R. Mayer and J. G. Isham		1485 acres (6 km²)	1879
Land Case 235 ND	John Hendley	Dr. John Hendley (1820–1875) was born in Lexington, Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region... , had been assistant surgeon in a Missouri volunteer regiment, and came to California in 1850, settling in the following year on his farm, where he died. He was Sonoma County's first treasurer and clerk, and claimed one square mile (640 acres (2.6 km²)).	640 acres (2.6 km²)	1879
Land Case 258 ND	Oliver Beaulieu	Oliver Beaulieu, a French-Canadian fur trapper, bought 640 acres (2.6 km²) on the north side of Santa Rosa Creek from Julio Carrillo in 1850. Beaulieu laid out a town named Franklin in 1853, which preceded the founding of Santa Rosa. But Franklin didn't survive, when Santa Rosa became the county seat in 1854, and the residents moved the mile and a half to Santa Rosa.	rejected

Son José Ramon Carrillo (1821–1864) was killed in 1864. Daughter Maria Marta Juana Carrillo (1826–1905) married Jose de Cruz Pilar Carrillo.

Historic sites of the Rancho

• Carrillo Adobe. The home of the Carrillo family (under restoration).