Rancho Laguna de Tache was a 48801 acres (197.5 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 Fresno County

Fresno County, California

Fresno County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield. As of the 2010 census, it is the tenth most populous county in California with a population of 930,450, and the sixth largest in size with an area of . The county...

 and Kings County, California

Kings County, California

Kings County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is located in a rich agricultural region. Kings County is also home to NAS Lemoore, which is the U.S. Navy's newest and largest master jet air station. The county seat is Hanford...

 given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico

Pío Pico

Pío de Jesús Pico was the last Governor of Alta California under Mexican rule.-Origins:...

 to Manuel Castro. The grant is named for the lake of the Tachi band of the Yokut people. The grant extended along the north bank of the Kings River

Kings River (California)

The Kings River is a major river of south-central California. About long, it drains an area of the high western Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley. A large alluvial fan has formed where the river's gradient decreases in the Central Valley so the river divides into distributaries...

 from Kingsburg

Kingsburg, California

Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California. Kingsburg is located southeast of Selma at an elevation of 302 feet , on the banks of the Kings River. The city is half an hour away from Fresno, and two hours away from the California Central Coast and Sierra Nevada Mountain Range...

 down river for twenty six miles, and included the present-day Laton

Laton, California

Laton is a census-designated place in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 1,824 at the 2010 census, up from 1,236 at the 2000 census...

, Riverdale

Riverdale, California

Riverdale is a census-designated place in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 3,153 at the 2010 census, up from 2,416 at the 2000 census...

 and Lanare

Lanare, California

Lanare is a community and census-designated place in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 589 at the 2010 census, up from 540 at the 2000 census. Lanare is located south-southwest of Fresno, at an elevation of 207 feet . The name is derived from Llewellyn A...

. This grant is not to be confused with the grant of the same name

Rancho Laguna de Tache (Limantour)

Rancho Laguna de Tache was a Mexican land grant in present day Tulare County, Fresno County and Kings County, California claimed to have been given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Joseph Yves Limantour. The grant extended along the south bank of the Kings River and was bounded on...

 on the South side of Kings River later claimed by Joseph Yves Limantour

Joseph Yves Limantour

Joseph Yves Limantour was a French merchant who engaged in the California sea trade during the years preceding American occupation of that Mexican province in 1846...

.

History

The eleven square league grant was made to Manuel Castro (1823-1853) in 1843, although a deed to secure the ownership was not issued until 1846. Castro's father, Simeon Castro, owned Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo

Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo

Rancho Bolsa Nueva y Moro Cojo was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to María Antonia Pico de Castro. Literally translated, the name means "new pocket and lame moor". The name "pocket" refers to pockets of land...

. Manuel Castro had been an Army captain under 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...

. Castro had also served as prefect of the Northern District of California. Castro remained 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...

 and sent Ysidor Villa to Rancho Laguna de Tache as foreman.

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 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 1853, 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 Manuel Castro in 1866. A claim for two square leagues by Jeremiah Clark was rejected by the Public Land Commission.

Jeremiah Clark acquired the entire Rancho Laguna de Tache from Manuel Castro in 1866. Clark built "Grant House" about three miles west of Laton in 1879. In 1880 Clark leased Rancho Laguna de Tache to the Polley Heilbron & Company for a term of 10 years, with an option of purchasing this lands. Clarke's wife, Charlotte, had Clark declared mentally incompetent and, after numerous court cases, prevented Polley Heilbron & Company from purchasing the Rancho. Charlotte F. Clark sold the Rancho to Charles A. Laton, a San Francisco capitalist and Llewellyn A. Nares, an Englishman (for whom the towns Laton and Lanare are named) in 1896. In 1892, the Fresno Canal and Irrigation Company secured and gained control of the Rancho's riparian water claims.