Rancho La Laguna (Manriquez)
Encyclopedia
Rancho La Laguna was a 13339 acres (54 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Riverside County, California
given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
to Julian Manriquez. The rancho lands include the present day city of Lake Elsinore
. At the time of the US Patent, Rancho Laguna was a part of San Diego County
. The County of Riverside was created by the California Legislature in 1893 by taking land from both San Bernardino and San Diego Counties.
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 La Laguna was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1852, and the grant was patented
to Abel Stearns in 1872.
Stearns subsequently sold Rancho Laguna to Augustin Machado in 1858. Augustin Machado built his house and outbuildings near the southwest corner of the Lake. From 1857 to 1861 the rancho was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail
between Los Angeles
and Fort Yuma
. In 1862, during the American Civil War it was the site for the Union Army Camp Laguna Grande.
After Augustin Machado's death in 1865, his eldest son, Juan Bautista Machado inherited the property.
In 1873, all but 500 acres (2 km²) of the rancho was sold to Charles A. Sumner, an English settler. Juan Machado retained the 500 acres (2 km²) on the northwest corner of the lake where his house still stands. Sumner moved into the rancho with his wife and two children. He lived in a ranch house that was a frame building, with rooms on a verandah with a small buiiding one hundred feet away as a kitchen.
Franklin Heald, along with Donald Graham and William Collier, purchased the Rancho Laguna from Sumner in 1883. They developed a community that was incorporated as the city of Elsinore in 1888.
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 Riverside County, California
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
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 Julian Manriquez. The rancho lands include the present day city of Lake Elsinore
Lake Elsinore, California
For the lake see Lake Elsinore.Lake Elsinore or LE is a city in western Riverside County, California. The population was 51,821 at the 2010 census...
. At the time of the US Patent, Rancho Laguna was a part of San Diego County
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
. The County of Riverside was created by the California Legislature in 1893 by taking land from both San Bernardino and San Diego Counties.
History
Julian Manriquez received the land grant in 1844. He sold the land to Abel Stearns in 1851.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 La Laguna 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 Abel Stearns in 1872.
Stearns subsequently sold Rancho Laguna to Augustin Machado in 1858. Augustin Machado built his house and outbuildings near the southwest corner of the Lake. From 1857 to 1861 the rancho was a stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail
Butterfield Overland Mail
The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route in the United States, operating from 1857 to 1861. It was a conduit for the U.S. mail from two eastern termini, Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis, Missouri, meeting Fort Smith, Arkansas, and continuing through Indian Territory, New Mexico,...
between Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma
Fort Yuma is a fort in California that is located in Imperial County, across the Colorado River from Yuma, Arizona. It was on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858 until 1861 and was abandoned May 16, 1883, and transferred to the Department of the Interior. The Fort Yuma Indian School and a...
. In 1862, during the American Civil War it was the site for the Union Army Camp Laguna Grande.
After Augustin Machado's death in 1865, his eldest son, Juan Bautista Machado inherited the property.
In 1873, all but 500 acres (2 km²) of the rancho was sold to Charles A. Sumner, an English settler. Juan Machado retained the 500 acres (2 km²) on the northwest corner of the lake where his house still stands. Sumner moved into the rancho with his wife and two children. He lived in a ranch house that was a frame building, with rooms on a verandah with a small buiiding one hundred feet away as a kitchen.
Franklin Heald, along with Donald Graham and William Collier, purchased the Rancho Laguna from Sumner in 1883. They developed a community that was incorporated as the city of Elsinore in 1888.
Historic sites of the Rancho
- Machado House. The Machado family built an adobeAdobeAdobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
home on the north-west side of the lake that still exists at 15410 Grand Avenue east of the junction of Grand Avenue and Riverside Drive in Lake Elsinore. This was the home built by Juan the son of Augustin Machado. It was incorporated into a larger frame home but recently has been restored in its original form as a two room adobe.
- Laguna Grande Butterfield Stage Station site. Augustin Machado's Rancho La Laguna was a regular stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail stage line between TemeculaRancho Little TemeculaRancho Little Temecula was a Mexican land grant in present day Riverside County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Pablo Apis. The grant was one of the few held by indigenous people. The grant is south of present day Temecula and is bordered on the north by Temecula Creek. At the...
and 10 miles south of the TemescalRancho Temescal (Serrano)Rancho Temescal was a Mexican land grant in present day Riverside County, California given by Governor José María de Echeandía to Leandro Serrano. The word Temescal is Spanish for "sweat bath" or "sweat lodge." The grant extended along the Temescal Valley south of present day Corona and...
station. The station may have been the Machado Adobe, located at the site where a seven room adobe house and an outbuilding stood until they were razed in 1964, at 32912 Macy Avenue, on the southwest side of the Lake. Over the years a frame addition and frame second story had been added to it and it was used as a post office at the turn of the century. Today three palm trees still grow in front of the site along Macy Avenue in front of the property. The description by Benjamin Ignatius HayesBenjamin Ignatius HayesBenjamin Ignatius Hayes , lawyer, first Judge of the Southern District of California from 1852-1864. Writer and collector of historical information about early California....
of the site of the adobe of the Manriquez rancho where he stayed overnight in January 1850, seems to match the location of this adobe.
External Links
- Machado House, Rancho La Laguna
- Sketch map of the Rancho La Laguna at The Bancroft library