Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos was a 8975 acres (36.3 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 northern 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 1840 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jose María Alvarado

José María Alvarado

José María Alvarado was the son of Juan Bautista Alvarado and María Raimunda Yorba.-Life:...

. The name means little valleys of St. Mark. The grant was located between Rancho Rincon del Diablo

Rancho Rincon del Diablo

Rancho Rincon del Diablo was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1843 to Juan Bautista Alvarado. The name means "the devil's corner" or "the devil's lurking place"...

 of Alvardo's father, Juan Bautista Alvarado on the east and Rancho Buena Vista

Rancho Buena Vista (Felipe)

Rancho Buena Vista was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Felipe, an Indian. The name means "good view" in Spanish...

 on the west, and encompassed present day San Marcos

San Marcos, California

San Marcos is a suburb of San Diego in the North County section of San Diego County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 83,781. Outside the San Diego region, it is best known as the home of California State University, San Marcos...

.

History

José María Alvarado (1813-1846) and his wife María Lugarda Osuna were granted the two square league Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos in 1840, but less than a year after taking possession, he sold the rancho to Lorenzo Soto. Lorenzo Soto (1821-1863) was the son of Francisco Soto of Rancho San Lorenzo Baja.

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 Vallecitos de San Marcos 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 Lorenzo Soto in 1883.

Lorenzo Soto married first Maria Rosa Soto, and after she died in 1857, he married second María Ygnacia Morena. In 1859 Lorenzo Soto acquired Rancho Buena Vista from Jesus Machado. After Lorenzo Soto’s death in 1863, his widow, María Ygnacia Morena de Soto in 1864 married Tomas Alvarado (1841-), part owner of Rancho Monserate

Rancho Monserate

Rancho Monserate was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Ysidro María Alvarado. The grant extended south and east of the present day Fallbrook down to the San Luis Rey River...

. Tomas Alvarado sold Rancho Vallecitos de San Marcos to Cave Johnson Couts in 1866.

Cave Johnson Couts (1821-1874), was a native of Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, and was a nephew of Cave Johnson

Cave Johnson

Cave Johnson was for fourteen years a Democratic U.S. Congressman from Tennessee. He was also the United States Postmaster General under James K. Polk from 1845–1849...

. Couts graduated from West Point in 1843 and came to California in 1849 as a lieutenant with the U.S Army forces occupying California following 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...

. Couts left the Army, and settled in San Diego. In 1849 he was commissioned to survey and map the pueblo lands of San Diego. He married Ysidora Bandini, the daughter of Juan Bandini

Juan Bandini

Juan Bandini was an early settler of what would become San Diego, California.-Early history:Juan Bandini was born 1800 in Lima, Peru to José Bandini, a Spanish sea captain. His father came to California in 1819 and 1821 and participated in the Mexican War of Independence...

 in 1851. Couts began buying property and developing political influence in the area. Couts also owned Rancho Guajome

Rancho Guajome

Rancho Guajome was a Mexican land grant in present day San Diego County, California given in 1845 by Governor Pío Pico to Andrés and José Manuel, Indians. The name comes from the Luiseño Indian word meaning "frog pond"...

and Rancho Buena Vista. Having been appointed sub-agent for the San Luis Rey Indians in 1853, Couts employed Indian labor to improve the properties. After Couts died, his son, Cave J. Couts, Jr.(1856-1943), took over management of the rancho.

In 1886, a land title dispute by a Soto heir was settled in favor of the Couts heirs.