Rancho Cañada del Corte de Madera
Encyclopedia
Rancho Cañada del Corte de Madera was a 3566 acres (14.4 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa
to José Domingo Peralta and Máximo Martínez. The name translates as "the valley where lumber is cut". The grant was located west of today's I-280
, and south of San Francisquito Creek
near Searsville Lake
, and covered most of the Portola Valley.
, was the grantee of Rancho San Antonio. In 1821, José Domingo Peralta (1795-1865) married Paulina Antonio de Garcia Pacheco (d. 1833), whose father was the grantee of Rancho San Ramon
. After the death of his wife, Domingo Peralta sold his share in the property to Martinez in 1834, and returned to Rancho San Antonio.
Máximo Martínez (1792 - 1863) had been a soldier in San Francisco from 1819 until 1827. He was regidor (councilman) in the Pueblo of San José in 1833. He married Damiana Padilla, and in 1834 the couple moved onto his rancho, until his death in 1863. In 1844 Máximo Martínez was granted the surrounding Rancho Corte de Madera
by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
.
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 Rancho Cañada del Corte de Madera was filed by Máximo Martínez with the Public Land Commission
in 1852. In 1857, Cipriano Thurn and Horace Carpentier
, Domingo Peralta's attorneys claimed one-half of the rancho for Peralta, disputing the alleged sale in 1834 of one half of the rancho to Martínez. The grant was patented
to José Domingo Peralta in 1882.
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 Santa Clara County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa
José Figueroa
General José Figueroa , was a General and the Mexican territorial Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835.Figueroa oversaw the initial secularization of the missions of upper California, which included the expulsion of the Spanish Franciscan mission officials.This also involved the issuing of...
to José Domingo Peralta and Máximo Martínez. The name translates as "the valley where lumber is cut". The grant was located west of today's I-280
Interstate 280 (California)
Interstate 280 is a 57-mile long north–south Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It connects San Jose and San Francisco, running along just to the west of the cities of San Francisco Peninsula for most of its route.I-280 from its northern end at King...
, and south of San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek
San Francisquito Creek is a creek that flows into southwest San Francisco Bay in California, United States of America. Historically it was called the Arroyo de San Francisco by Juan Bautista de Anza in 1776...
near Searsville Lake
Searsville Dam
Searsville Dam is a masonry dam that was completed in 1892, one year after the founding of Stanford University, and impounds Corte Madera Creek to form a reservoir known as Searsville Lake. Searsville Dam is located in the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve and is owned and operated by Stanford...
, and covered most of the Portola Valley.
History
Mexican governor, José Figueroa, granted one square league to Máximo Martínez and José Domingo Peralta in 1833. José Domingo Peralta's father, Luís María PeraltaLuís María Peralta
Luis María Peralta was a soldier in the Spanish Army, who received one of the largest of the Spanish land grants, Rancho San Antonio, a plot that encompassed most of the East Bay region of California.-Biography:...
, was the grantee of Rancho San Antonio. In 1821, José Domingo Peralta (1795-1865) married Paulina Antonio de Garcia Pacheco (d. 1833), whose father was the grantee of Rancho San Ramon
Rancho San Ramon (Pacheco-Castro)
Rancho San Ramon was a Mexican land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1833 by Governor Jose Figueroa to Mariano Castro and Bartolome Pacheco. Governor Figueroa granted Castro and Pacheco two square leagues of San Ramon Valley from the crest of the western ridge to the...
. After the death of his wife, Domingo Peralta sold his share in the property to Martinez in 1834, and returned to Rancho San Antonio.
Máximo Martínez (1792 - 1863) had been a soldier in San Francisco from 1819 until 1827. He was regidor (councilman) in the Pueblo of San José in 1833. He married Damiana Padilla, and in 1834 the couple moved onto his rancho, until his death in 1863. In 1844 Máximo Martínez was granted the surrounding Rancho Corte de Madera
Rancho Corte de Madera
Rancho Corte de Madera was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Máximo Martínez. The name translates as "the place where lumber is cut"...
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...
.
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 Rancho Cañada del Corte de Madera was filed by Máximo Martínez 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. In 1857, Cipriano Thurn and Horace Carpentier
Horace Carpentier
Horace Walpole Carpentier was a lawyer and the first mayor of Oakland, California. He also served as president of the Overland Telegraph Company which oversaw the construction of the western portion of the first transcontinental telegraph in the United States.-Life:Carpentier was born in Galway,...
, Domingo Peralta's attorneys claimed one-half of the rancho for Peralta, disputing the alleged sale in 1834 of one half of the rancho to Martínez. 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 José Domingo Peralta in 1882.