Rancho Orestimba y Las Garzas (Meetingplace and the Herons) was a 26668 acres (107.9 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 Stanislaus County

Stanislaus County, California

Stanislaus County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. As the price of housing has increased in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people who work in the southern reaches of the Bay Area have opted for the longer commute and moved to Stanislaus County for the...

 and Merced County, California

Merced County, California

Merced County , is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of Fresno and southeast of San Jose. As of the 2010 census, the population was 255,793, up from 210,554 at the 2000 census. The county seat is Merced...

  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 Sebastián Nuñez. The grant was originally in a part of Tuolumne County

Tuolumne County, California

Tuolumne County is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. The northern half of Yosemite National Park is located in the eastern part of the county. As of the 2010 census, the population was 55,365, up from 54,501 at the 2000 census...

  that became part of Stanislaus County in 1854. The grant was located west of the San Joaquin River

San Joaquin River

The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...

 and south of Rancho Del Puerto

Rancho Del Puerto

Rancho Del Puerto was a Mexican land grant in present day Stanislaus County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Mariano and Pedro Hernández. The grant extended east of the present day Highway 33 to the San Joaquin River...

, and encompassed present day Newman

Newman, California

Newman is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. The population was 10,224 at the 2010 census, up from 7,093 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. Founded by Simon Newman in 1888, the City of Newman is part of the West Side of California's...

. Arroyo Orestimba

Orestimba Creek

Orestimba Creek, originally Arroyo Orestimba is a tributary of the San Joaquin River draining eastern slopes of part of the Diablo Range within the Central Valley of California, USA...

 lay across the northern section of the Rancho Orestimba with Arroyo de las Garzas

Garzas Creek

Garzas Creek, originally Arroyo de las Garzas , is a tributary of the San Joaquin River draining the eastern slopes of part of the Diablo Range within the Central Valley of California, USA...

 across the southern end of the Rancho.

History

In 1840 Sebastián Nuñez married María Jacinta Pacheco (1813- ), daughter of Francisco Pacheco, grantee of Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe

Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe

Rancho Ausaymas y San Felipe was a Mexican land grant in present day San Benito County and Santa Clara County, California a consists of two square leagues given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa and two square leagues given in 1836 by Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez to Francisco Perez Pacheco...

 and Rancho San Justo

Rancho San Justo

Rancho San Justo was a Mexican land grant in present day San Benito County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to José Antonio Castro. The lands of the rancho include current day Hollister.-History:...

. Nuñez was granted the six square league Rancho Orestimba in 1844. The ranch house of Rancho Orestimba y las Garzas, was built above the sycamore grove on Arroyo de Orestimba.

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 Orestimba 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 Sebastián Nuñez in 1863.