Rancho Pleyto was a 13299 acres (53.8 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 1845 by Governor Pío Pico

Pío Pico

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

 to Antonio Chaves (Chávez). The grant extended along the San Antonio River

San Antonio River (California)

The San Antonio River is a river in southern Monterey County, California.-Geography:The river travels southeast from its headwaters in the Santa Lucia Range in the Los Padres National Forest and into Lake San Antonio. This is a reservoir behind the San Antonio Dam, an earth-fill dam on the river...

 southeast of 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...

. Much of the grant is under water, inundated by the creation of the San Antonio Reservoir

Lake San Antonio

Lake San Antonio is a lake in southern Monterey County, California. The lake is formed by an earthfill dam on the San Antonio River. The dam is 202 feet tall and was completed in 1965 under Monterey County District Engineer Loran Bunte Jr . The lake and dam are owned by the Monterey County Water...

.

History

José Antonio Chávez, came to California in 1833 with Governor José Figueroa

José Figueroa

General José Figueroa , was a General and the Mexican territorial Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835.Figueroa oversaw the initial secularization of the missions of upper California, which included the expulsion of the Spanish Franciscan mission officials.This also involved the issuing of...

. He was tax collector at 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...

in 1843, and one of the prime movers in the movement against 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...

 1844. Chaves was the grantee of the eleven square league Rancho Cienega del Gabilan

Rancho Cienega del Gabilan

Rancho Cienega del Gabilan was a Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County and San Benito County, California given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Antonio Chaves . The name means "spring of the hawk ranch". The grant was located in the Gabilan Range east of present day...

 in 1843, and the three square league Rancho Pleyto in 1845. He took part as Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 in various military operations in the Mexican–American War

Mexican–American War

The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...

 of 1846. He was sent by José Castro to John C. Frémont

John C. Frémont

John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...

's camp at Gavilan Peak. Later he kidnapped Thomas O. Larkin

Thomas O. Larkin

Thomas Oliver Larkin was an early American emigrant to Alta California and a signer of the original California Constitution. He was the United States' first and only consul to the California Republic.-Early years:...

 and was second in command at the Battle of Natividad

Battle of Natividad

The Battle of the Natividad took place on November 16, 1846 in the Salinas Valley, in present day Monterey County, California, during the California Campaign of the Mexican-American War, between United States organized California militia and loyalist Mexican militia.-Battle:San Juan Bautista was...

, where he was wounded. He returned to Mexico in 1848.

Thomas O. Larkin (1802–1858) bought Rancho Pleyto from Chaves. Larkin also bought Rancho Cienega del Gabilan from Chaves.

William S. Johnson and Preston K. Woodside came to California with Jonathan D. Stevenson

Jonathan D. Stevenson

Jonathan Drake Stevenson was born in New York; won a seat in the New York State Assembly ; was the commanding officer of the First Regiment of New York Volunteers during the Mexican-American War in California; entered California mining and real estate businesses; and died in San Francisco on...

's 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers

1st Regiment of New York Volunteers

1st Regiment of New York Volunteers, for service in California and during the war with Mexico, was raised in 1846 during the Mexican American War by Jonathan D. Stevenson. Accepted by the United States Army on August 1846 the 1st Regiment of New York Volunteers was transported around Cape Horn to...

, part of the American occupation army force that landed in California in 1847.

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 Pleyto 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 William S. Johnson and Preston K. Woodside in 1872.

William Pinkerton (1843-1918) bought a large portion of Rancho Pleyto in 1868, and founded the town of Pleyto

Pleyto, California

Pleyto is an unincorporated community in Monterey County, California. It is located on the San Antonio River southeast of Jolon, at an elevation of 781 feet ....

, which is now completely under water, inundated by the creation of Lake San Antonio.