Rancho Trabuco was a 22184 acres (89.8 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 Orange County

Orange County, California

Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The five square league grant consisted of two square leagues given in 1841 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Santiago Argüello

Santiago Argüello

-Life:Santiago Argüello was born in Monterey, California, the son of José Darío Argüello, a soldier, and María Ignacia Moraga, a niece of the acting governor of Alta California. Argüello was tall and stout. His fair complexion and black hair, along with his reserved manner gave him a regal...

 plus three square leagues given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico

Pío Pico

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

 to John (Don Juan) Forster

John (Don Juan) Forster

John Forster was born in England; became a Mexican citizen of early California, and was one of the largest landowners in California.-Early life:...

. The name "trabuco" means "blunderbuss

Blunderbuss

The blunderbuss is a muzzle-loading firearm with a short, large caliber barrel, which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity and/or caliber. The blunderbuss could be considered to be an early form of shotgun,...

" in Spanish. The grant extended along Trabuco Creek

Trabuco Creek

Trabuco Creek is a small river in the U.S. state of California, flowing from the westernmost extreme of Riverside County through Orange County to join San Juan Creek in the city of San Juan Capistrano. long, its watershed covers in southeastern Orange County, including portions of three...

 and Trabuco Canyon

Trabuco Canyon, California

Trabuco Canyon is a small unincorporated community located in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains in eastern Orange County, California, and lies partly within the Cleveland National Forest.Trabuco Canyon is north of the town of Rancho Santa Margarita...

, and encompassed present day Coto de Caza

Coto de Caza, California

Coto de Caza is a census-designated place and guard-gated private community in Orange County, California. The population was 14,866 at the 2010 census, up from 13,057 at the 2000 census....

. The grant was bordered by Rancho Cañada de los Alisos

Rancho Cañada de los Alisos

Rancho Cañada de los Alisos was a Mexican land grant in present day Orange County, California given by Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado to Jose Antonio Fernando Serrano in 1842, and enlarged by a second grant by Pio Pico in 1846. The name means "Glen of the Alders" in Spanish, after the native...

 on the west, and by Rancho Mission Viejo

Rancho Mission Viejo

Rancho Mission Viejo was a land grant given in 1845 to John Forster. Later it became a cattle ranch and leased land operation in what is now Mission Viejo, California, in southeast Orange County, California.-Mexican land grant:...

 on the east.

History

Santiago Argüello was a soldier in the Mexican army, and was commandant at the Presidio of San Diego

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...

 from 1830 to 1835. In 1841, Argüello was granted the two square league Rancho Trabuco for his services. In 1846 Argüello was granted Rancho Ex-Mission San Diego

Rancho Ex-Mission San Diego

Rancho Ex-Mission San Diego was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico to Santiago Argüello...

. John Forster, who was the grantee of the adjacent Rancho Mission Viejo in 1845, acquired Argüello's Rancho Trabuco and was granted an additional three square leagues in 1846.

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 Trabuco 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 John Forster in 1866.

In 1864, Forster added Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores

Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores

Rancho Santa Margarita y Las Flores was a Mexican land grant in present day northwestern San Diego County, California given by governor Juan Alvarado in 1841 to Andrés Pico and Pio Pico...

 to his holdings. Forster died in 1882.

Irish immigrants, Richard O'Neill Sr. and James Flood, acquired the rancho in 1882. Flood and O'Neill became equal partners of the Rancho Santa Margarita y las Flores, Rancho Mission Viejo and Rancho Trabuco lands. In 1907, James L. Flood, son of the original owner, made good on his late father's promise and conveyed an undivided half interest to O'Neill, Sr. Four months later, declining health caused O'Neill to deed his interest to his son, Jerome. In 1923, the sons of Flood and O'Neill consolidated their partnership with the Santa Margarita Company. In 1939, property was divided. Richard O'Neill Jr. retained the Rancho Mission Viejo and Rancho Trabuco portion located in Orange County, and the Flood family took the Rancho Santa Margarita y las Flores property in San Diego County

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...

. Most of Rancho Trabuco is now the site of O'Neill Regional Park