Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos
Encyclopedia
Rancho Santa Maria de Los Peñasquitos was a 8486 acres (34.3 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day southwestern San Diego County, California
given in 1823 to Francisco María Ruiz
. The name means "Saint Mary of the Little Cliffs". It encompassed the present day communities of Mira Mesa
, Carmel Valley
, and Rancho Peñasquitos
in northern San Diego
city, and was inland from the Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve bluffs.
. Ruiz built an adobe home on the rancho, which was north of the Presidio
and Mission San Diego de Alcalá
.
In 1837 Ruiz sold his ranch to Francisco María Alvarado
- a grandnephew. After Ruiz died in 1839, Alvarado moved to the ranch, and lived in the adobe home built by Ruiz. Alvarado married Tomasa Pico (1801 - 1876), and they gave the property to their daughter Maria Estéfana Alvarado (1840 - ) when she married Captain George A. Johnson (1823 - ) in 1859. Capt. Johnson inherited the ranch by the time the U.S. government granted a patent to the land in 1876.
Capt. Johnson sold the rancho in 1880 to Colonel Jacob Shell Taylor, founder of Del Mar
. Charles F. Mohnike owned the ranch in 1910. In 1921 George Sawday and Oliver Sexon bought the ranch and stocked it with cattle. Real estate developer Irvin J. Kahn bought Rancho Peñasquitos in 1962.
ranch home located in the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve
in San Diego, California
. The San Diego County Parks & Recreation department offers tours on weekends. The area has archeological sites, with artifacts found showing indigenous people living here for over six thousand years.
on the former rancho lands for more than 500 plant species, with many being rare or endemic native plants
in the coastal sage scrub ecosystem
. This locale was known to be quite wooded with riparian forest
s and oak woodland
s as late as the 1880s, at which time California state survey recommended preservation of the locale's trees and woodland
plant communities to prevent further erosion and subsequent flooding, which had already occurred from areas of prior deforestation
. Additional present day park land acquisition and plant restoration
is ongoing. A tree endemic to only this area is the Torrey Pine
, the rarest native pine in the United States and an endangered species
surviving in a single mainland population within Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and the adjacent coastal strip.
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 southwestern San Diego County, California
San Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
given in 1823 to Francisco María Ruiz
Francisco María Ruiz
Francisco María Ruiz was an early settler of San Diego, CaliforniaRuiz was born 1754 in Loreto, Baja California. He enlisted in the army when he was 26 and sent to Upper California...
. The name means "Saint Mary of the Little Cliffs". It encompassed the present day communities of Mira Mesa
Mira Mesa, San Diego, California
Mira Mesa is a large suburb that is part of the city of San Diego, California.Mira Mesa is bordered by Interstate 15 to the east, Interstate 805 to the west, the Los Peñasquitos Canyon to the north and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, to the south. The west end of Mira Mesa is a business and...
, Carmel Valley
Carmel Valley, San Diego, California
Carmel Valley is a wealthy, master-planned coastal community in the north-western corner of San Diego, California, USA. The community is composed of commercial offices, residential units, hotels, and retail stores and restaurants...
, and Rancho Peñasquitos
Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego, California
Rancho Peñasquitos is a community in the northeastern part of the city of San Diego, California. It is named after the first Spanish Land Grant in the County - Rancho de Los Penasquitos. Peñasquitos means little cliffs in Spanish. It abuts Los Penasquitos canyon preserve - an open space...
in northern San Diego
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
city, and was inland from the Torrey Pines State Natural Preserve bluffs.
History
The Rancho Santa Maria de los Peñasquitos was the first Mexican land grant in present day San Diego CountySan Diego County, California
San Diego County is a large county located in the southwestern corner of the US state of California. Hence, San Diego County is also located in the southwestern corner of the 48 contiguous United States. Its county seat and largest city is San Diego. Its population was about 2,813,835 in the 2000...
. Ruiz built an adobe home on the rancho, which was north of the Presidio
Presidio of San Diego
El Presidio Reál de San Diego is an historical fort established on May 14, 1769, by Commandant Pedro Fages for Spain. It was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the United States. As the first of the presidios and Spanish missions in California, it was the base of...
and Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission San Diego de Alcalá
Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, in San Diego, California, was the first Franciscan mission in the Las Californias Province of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. It was founded in 1769 by Spanish friar Junípero Serra in an area long inhabited by the Kumeyaay Indians...
.
In 1837 Ruiz sold his ranch to Francisco María Alvarado
Francisco María Alvarado
Francisco María Alvarado was an early settler of San Diego, California.Alvarado was born around 1793 to a Spanish soldier. He married Tomasa Pico, the sister of Pío Pico, the last Mexican governor of Alta California....
- a grandnephew. After Ruiz died in 1839, Alvarado moved to the ranch, and lived in the adobe home built by Ruiz. Alvarado married Tomasa Pico (1801 - 1876), and they gave the property to their daughter Maria Estéfana Alvarado (1840 - ) when she married Captain George A. Johnson (1823 - ) in 1859. Capt. Johnson inherited the ranch by the time the U.S. government granted a patent to the land in 1876.
Capt. Johnson sold the rancho in 1880 to Colonel Jacob Shell Taylor, founder of Del Mar
Del Mar, California
Del Mar is an upscale beach town in San Diego County, California. The population was 4,161 at the 2010 census, down from 4,389 at the 2000 census. The San Diego County Fair is hosted on the Del Mar Fairgrounds every summer. Del Mar is Spanish for "of the sea" or "by the sea", because it is located...
. Charles F. Mohnike owned the ranch in 1910. In 1921 George Sawday and Oliver Sexon bought the ranch and stocked it with cattle. Real estate developer Irvin J. Kahn bought Rancho Peñasquitos in 1962.
Historic sites of the Rancho
Rancho de Los Peñasquitos (Little Cliffs Ranch) is a historic 1823 adobeAdobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
ranch home located in the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is an urban park in San Diego, California. Stretching approximately , the park encompasses some of both Peñasquitos and Lopez canyons, and is one of the largest urban parks in the United States. The preserve is jointly owned and administered by the City of San Diego...
in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. The San Diego County Parks & Recreation department offers tours on weekends. The area has archeological sites, with artifacts found showing indigenous people living here for over six thousand years.
Natural history
The Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve park also preserves habitatHabitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
on the former rancho lands for more than 500 plant species, with many being rare or endemic native plants
California native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century...
in the coastal sage scrub ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
. This locale was known to be quite wooded with riparian forest
Riparian forest
A riparian forest is a forested area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink or reservoir. -Etymology:...
s and oak woodland
California oak woodland
California oak woodland is a plant community found throughout the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of California in the United States and northwestern Baja California in Mexico...
s as late as the 1880s, at which time California state survey recommended preservation of the locale's trees and woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
plant communities to prevent further erosion and subsequent flooding, which had already occurred from areas of prior deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
. Additional present day park land acquisition and plant restoration
Restoration ecology
-Definition:Restoration ecology is the scientific study and practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human intervention and action, within a short time frame...
is ongoing. A tree endemic to only this area is the Torrey Pine
Torrey Pine
The Torrey Pine, Pinus torreyana, is the rarest pine species in the United States, an endangered species growing only in San Diego County and on one of the Channel Islands, endemic to the coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion in the U.S...
, the rarest native pine in the United States and an endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
surviving in a single mainland population within Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve and the adjacent coastal strip.
See also
- Ranchos of CaliforniaRanchos of CaliforniaThe 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...
- List of Ranchos of California
- California coastal sage and chaparral ecoregionCalifornia coastal sage and chaparral ecoregionThe California coastal sage and chaparral, a sub-ecoregion of the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, is found in southwestern California and northwestern Baja California in Mexico.-Location:...