Rancho Milpitas was a 43281 acres (175.2 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 Monterey County, California

Monterey County, California

Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...

 given in 1838 by governor Juan Alvarado to Ygnacio Pastor. The grant encompassed present day Jolon

Jolon, California

Jolon is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located south of King City, at an elevation of 971 feet . Jolon is located in the Salinas Valley in a rural area located about 6 miles from Mission San Antonio de Padua, and is part of Fort Hunter Liggett.The town was...

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History

With secularization, the lands of the Mission San Antonio de Padua

Mission San Antonio de Padua

Mission San Antonio de Padua was founded on July 14, 1771, the third mission founded in Alta California by Father Presidente Junípero Serra, and site of the first Christian marriage and first use of fired-tile roofing in Upper California.-History:...

 were divided into at least ten Mexican land grants (including Rancho Milpitas (Little Fields), Rancho El Piojo

Rancho El Piojo

Rancho El Piojo was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Joaquín Soto. The grant extened along Piojo Creek south of Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad.-History:...

 (The Louse), Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad

Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad

Rancho San Miguelito de Trinidad was a Mexican land grant in present day southern Monterey County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José Rafael Gonzalez...

, and Rancho Los Ojitos

Rancho Los Ojitos

Rancho Los Ojitos was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1842 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Mariano de Jesus Soberanes...

 (Little Springs) ). Ygnacio Pastor, a neophyte of the San Antonio Mission, received the grant of Rancho Milpitas from Governor Alvarado 1838.

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 Milpitas 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 Ygnacio Pastor in 1875.

Faxon Atherton

Faxon Atherton

Faxon Dean Atherton was an American businessman and landowner, and was a prominent citizen of San Mateo County, California. He is the namesake of Atherton, California.-Early life:...

 purchased Rancho Milpitas from Ygnacio Pastor immediately upon its title clearance in 1875. By 1880, the James Brown Cattle Company owned and operated Rancho Milpitas and Rancho Los Ojitos. William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst was an American business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887, after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father...

's Piedmont Land and Cattle Company acquired the rancho in 1925. In 1940, in preparation for involvement in World War II, the U.S. War Department purchased the land from Hearst to create a troop training facility known as the Hunter Liggett Military Reservation

Fort Hunter Liggett

Fort Hunter Liggett , named after General Hunter Liggett in 1941, is a United States Army fort in southern Monterey County, California, about 250 miles north of Los Angeles and south of San Francisco...

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Historic sites of the Rancho

• The Hacienda was completed in 1930 for use by William Randolph Hearst, and it is on the National Register of Historic Places
  National Register of Historic Places
  The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
  
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