William Marcus West is a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 pioneer

Settler

A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...

 who settled

Settler

A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...

 in what is now eastern Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, California

Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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Life

West came to the area in 1832, soon after marrying Guadalupe Vasquez, a sister of General Vallejo

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo

Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of Mexico, and shaped the transition of California from a Mexican district to an American state...

. At the time, the area belonged to Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

. In 1840, he acquired the 6663 acres (26.96 km²) Rancho San Miguel

Rancho San Miguel (West)

Rancho San Miguel was a Mexican land grant in present day Sonoma County, California given in 1840 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to William Marcus West...

, located north of Santa Rosa Creek

Santa Rosa Creek

Santa Rosa Creek is a 22 mile long stream in Sonoma County, California which rises on Hood Mountain and discharges to the Laguna de Santa Rosa by way of the Santa Rosa Flood Control Channel...

. Mark West established a hacienda

Hacienda

Hacienda is a Spanish word for an estate. Some haciendas were plantations, mines, or even business factories. Many haciendas combined these productive activities...

, post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

, and trading post

Trading post

A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....

 near Mark West Creek

Mark West Creek

Mark West Creek is a stream that rises in the Mayacamas Mountains of Sonoma County, California, USA. Tributaries of Mark West Creek include Porter Creek and Hummingbird Creek, both of which originate in the same mountain range. Discharge waters of Mark West Creek reach the Russian River after a...

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Maria Francisca Guadalupe Vasquez y Lugo, who was the daughter of Felipe Vasquez and Nicanor Lugo, married Mark West at the Mission San Carlos Boromeo in 1834.She was the grand-daughter of Juan Athanasio Vasquez, who was a soldier in the Anza 1776 Expedition. Her father, Jose Felipe Vasquez y Bojorquez, was grantee of Rancho Chamiscal in 1835

Legacy

Several geographic features in the area were named after him, including Mark West Creek, Mark West School, and the communities of Mark West

Mark West, California

Mark West is an unincorporated community immediately north of Santa Rosa, California in Sonoma County, California, USA. Mark West is located along Mark West Springs Road adjacent to U.S. Highway 101...

 and Mark West Springs, California

Mark West Springs, California

Mark West Springs is an unincorporated community in eastern Sonoma County, California, USA. Mark West Springs is located on Porter Creek Road in the Mayacamas Mountains. Mark West Creek flows through the community....

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