Rancho Potrero de San Carlos

Rancho Potrero de San Carlos was a 4,307-acre (17.43 km²) Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1837 by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Fructuoso del Real, an Indian.^[1] The land was part of the pasture ("potrero") of the secularized Mission San Carlos. The grant was located south of Monterey on the south bank of the Carmel River.^{[2] [3]}

History

The one square league grant was given to Fructuoso del Real, an Indian from the Mission San Carlos. When he died in 1845, he passed it on to his daughter, Estefana del Real, who married Joaquín Gutierrez, a soldier.^[4][5]

With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho Potrero de San Carlos was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852,^[6] and the grant was patented to Joaquín Gutierrez and Maria Estefana del Real in 1862.^[7]

In 1857 Bradley Sargent bought Rancho Potrero de San Carlos. Bradley Varnum Sargent (1828–1893), born in New Hampshire, came to California with his 3 brothers, Jacob L. Sargent (1818–1890), Roswell C. Sargent (1821–1903), and James P. Sargent (1823-1890) in 1849. In 1856 the Sargent brothers bought Rancho Juristac. B.V. Sargent moved to Monterey in 1858 and resided there until his death. Sargent also purchased Rancho San Francisquito, lying southeast of Rancho Potrero de San Carlos.

References

1. Ogden Hoffman, 1862, Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Numa Hubert, San Francisco
2. Diseño del Rancho Potrero de San Carlos
3. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rancho Potrero de San Carlos
4. Deborah A. Miranda, 2010, Extermination of the Joyas: Gendercide in Spanish California, GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 16.1-2 (2010): 253-284
5. Hoover, Mildred B.; Rensch, Hero; Rensch, Ethel; Abeloe, William N. (1966). Historic Spots in California. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-4482-9.
6. United States. District Court (California : Southern District) Land Case 333 SD
7. Report of the Surveyor General 1844 - 1886

Coordinates: 36°31′12″N 121°52′48″W / 36.520°N 121.880°W