Rancho Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones (also called "San Miguel") was a 17782 acres (72 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 Contra Costa County, California

Contra Costa County, California

Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...

 given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa

José Figueroa

General José Figueroa , was a General and the Mexican territorial Governor of Alta California from 1833 to 1835.Figueroa oversaw the initial secularization of the missions of upper California, which included the expulsion of the Spanish Franciscan mission officials.This also involved the issuing of...

 to Juana Sanchez de Pacheco. The grant was named after the principal waterway, Arroyo de los Nueces (walnut creek) and for the local group of indigenous Americans (Bolbones). The grant was on the western slope of Mount Diablo and includes the present day Walnut Creek

Walnut Creek, California

Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...

. Approximately a quarter of the original rancho is now in the Mt. Diablo State Park.

History

Juana Lorenza Sanchez de Pacheco (1776 - 1853) was the widow of Miguel Antonio Pacheco (1745 - 1829). Miguel Pacheco, a soldier, was the son of Juan Salvio Pacheco (1729 - 1777) and Maria Carmen del Valle, who came to San Francisco in 1776 with the De Anza Expedition. The Pacheco family used its land for grazing cattle, but did not settle on the rancho.

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 Arroyo de Las Nueces y Bolbones 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 the heirs of Juana Lorenza Sanchez de Pacheco in 1866. The grant was for two leagues, but was confirmed for nearly four leagues.

Rosa Maria Pacheo, daughter of Miguel Antonio Pacheco, married Jose Maria Sibrian (1798 - ), and their two sons, Jose Ysidro Sibrian (1821 - ) and Jose Ygnacio Sibrian (1822 - ) inherited the rancho. Ygnacio Sibrian, the namesake of the Ygnacio Valley, built the first roofed residence in the valley around 1850. Shortly before John Marsh

John Marsh (pioneer)

“Doctor” John Marsh was born in 1799 in South Danvers, Massachusetts and died in Pacheco, California in 1856. He was an early pioneer and settler in California, and although he did not have a medical degree, is often regarded as the first person to practice medicine in California.-Early life:Marsh...

 of Rancho Los Meganos

Rancho Los Meganos

Rancho Los Meganos was a Mexican land grant in present day Contra Costa County, California given in 1835 by Governor José Castro to Jose Noriega. "Meganos" means "sand dunes" in Spanish. Rancho Los Meganos extends eastward from present day Antioch along the San Joaquin River to the Old River...

  died in 1856, Ygnacio Sibrian and Marsh were involved in a bitter court trial.

Historic sites of the Rancho

• Old Borges Ranch. The former ranch of early Walnut Creek pioneer Frank Borges
• Shadelands Ranch. Ranch established by Hiram Penniman. Hiram Penniman arrived in California in 1853, and in 1856 purchased 500 acres (2 km²) of land from Encarnación Pacheco, daughter of Juana Sanchez de Pacheco. Shadelands Ranch House is on the National Register #8500191