Rancho Los Capitancillos
Encyclopedia
Rancho Los Capitancillos was a 3360 acres (13.6 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Santa Clara County, California
given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Justo Larios. Los Capitancillos means the Little Captains in Spanish. The grant was south of present day San Jose
and was bounded on the south by José de los Reyes Berreyesa
's Rancho San Vicente
.
. Larios was granted the one square league Rancho Los Capitancillos in 1842. Larios sold the whole grant to Grove C. Cook (–1852) in 1845. In 1848, Cook sold the northern part of the grant (Rancho Cañada de los Capitancillos
) to the Guadalupe Mining Company. Cook died in 1852, and Charles Fossat bought the three-quarters of the grant in a sheriff's sale.
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 Los Capitancillos was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1852. The grant was confirmed by the Commission 1854, by the US District Court in 1857, but reversed by the US Supreme Court, and then approved. The grant was patented
to Charles Fossat in 1865.
The New Almaden Quicksilver Mines
were discovered in 1845, and mining operations began in 1847, just in time for the California Gold Rush
. José Reyes Berreyessa laid claim to the mine on the basis that it lay on Rancho San Vicente. Similarly, Justo Larios also claimed ownership. The United States government even stepped in to claim that the mine lay on public land. A complex legal case described by The New York Times
as "one of the most remarkable civil trials in this or any other country", United States v. Andres Castillero eventually reached the United States Supreme Court whereupon it was finally decided in 1862 that, the mine was on Rancho Los Capitancillos, and that the furnaces and improvements of the company below the hill were on Rancho San Vicente. The company bought into these two titles and then sold the entire operation in 1864 to the Quicksilver Mining Company.
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
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Justo Larios. Los Capitancillos means the Little Captains in Spanish. The grant was south of present day San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
and was bounded on the south by José de los Reyes Berreyesa
José de los Reyes Berreyesa
José de los Reyes Berrelleza was born at Mission Santa Clara de Asís in Las Californias on January 6, 1785, the third child and first son in the family of María Gertrudis Peralta and Nicholas Antonio Berrelleza. He served as an army sergeant at El Presidio Real de San Francisco. In 1805, he...
's Rancho San Vicente
Rancho San Vicente (Berreyesa)
Rancho San Vicente was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José de los Reyes Berreyesa. The grant was located west of the Santa Teresa Hills at the south end of Almaden Valley...
.
History
Justo Larios (1808–), son of Jose Larios, was a military artilleryman at the Presidio of San FranciscoPresidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
. Larios was granted the one square league Rancho Los Capitancillos in 1842. Larios sold the whole grant to Grove C. Cook (–1852) in 1845. In 1848, Cook sold the northern part of the grant (Rancho Cañada de los Capitancillos
Rancho Cañada de los Capitancillos
Rancho Cañada de los Capitancillos was a Mexican land grant in present day Santa Clara County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Justo Larios. The name means the Valley of the Little Captains. The grant was south of present day San Jose and bounded on the west by the...
) to the Guadalupe Mining Company. Cook died in 1852, and Charles Fossat bought the three-quarters of the grant in a sheriff's sale.
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 Los Capitancillos 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. The grant was confirmed by the Commission 1854, by the US District Court in 1857, but reversed by the US Supreme Court, and then approved. 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 Charles Fossat in 1865.
The New Almaden Quicksilver Mines
New Almaden
The New Almaden quicksilver mine in the Santa Teresa Hills in Santa Clara County, California, United States, is the oldest and most productive quicksilver mine in the U.S. The site was known to the Ohlone Indians for its cinnabar long before a Mexican settler discovered the ores in 1820...
were discovered in 1845, and mining operations began in 1847, just in time for the California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
. José Reyes Berreyessa laid claim to the mine on the basis that it lay on Rancho San Vicente. Similarly, Justo Larios also claimed ownership. The United States government even stepped in to claim that the mine lay on public land. A complex legal case described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as "one of the most remarkable civil trials in this or any other country", United States v. Andres Castillero eventually reached the United States Supreme Court whereupon it was finally decided in 1862 that, the mine was on Rancho Los Capitancillos, and that the furnaces and improvements of the company below the hill were on Rancho San Vicente. The company bought into these two titles and then sold the entire operation in 1864 to the Quicksilver Mining Company.