Rancho Catacula
Encyclopedia
Rancho Catacula was a 8546 acres (34.6 km²) Mexican land grant
in present day Napa County, California
given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
to Joseph Ballinger Chiles. The grant was located along Chiles creek in the Chiles Valley
east of St. Helena
.
. He made several trips across country. In 1843, he led the Walker-Chiles Party
that included the two daughters of George C. Yount
. In 1844, Chiles was granted the two square league Rancho Catacula. Chiles set up a grist mill and later built a distillery and began producing whiskey on a small scale. In 1848 Chiles made another overland trip to California, bringing his own family of a son and three daughters.
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 Catacula was filed with the Public Land Commission
in 1852, and the grant was patented
to Joseph Ballinger Chiles in 1865.
In 1853, Chiles married Margret Jane Garnett. The Chiles house, built in 1856, is one of the oldest in the Napa Valley. In 1869, Joshua James Priest, who came to California in 1849, bought 692 acres (2.8 km²) of Rancho Catacula called Soda Valley or Priest Ranch. In the 1870s, Francis Sievers, bought 286 acres (1.2 km²). In 1877, the Whittle family bought 990 acres (4 km²) of in the eastern portion of Rancho Catacula called Elder Valley. After Chiles died, his nephew Isaac Skinner Chiles bought part of Rancho Catacula.
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 Napa County, California
Napa County, California
Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is coterminous with the Napa, California, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population is 136,484. The county seat is Napa....
given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena
Manuel Micheltorena was a Brigadier General of the Mexican Army, Adjutant-General of the same, Governor, Commandant-General and Inspector of the Department of the California...
to Joseph Ballinger Chiles. The grant was located along Chiles creek in the Chiles Valley
Chiles Valley AVA
The Chiles Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located within Napa Valley AVA. The Chiles Valley is nestled in the Vaca Mountains on the northeast side of Napa Valley. The appellation has a warmer and more continental climate than other portions of Napa Valley...
east of St. Helena
St. Helena, California
St. Helena is a city in Napa County, California, United States. It is part of the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 5,814 at the 2010 census....
.
History
Colonel Joseph Ballinger Chiles (1810 – 1885) first came to California in 1841 with the Bartleson-Bidwell PartyBartleson-Bidwell Party
In 1841, the Bartleson–Bidwell Party led by Captain John Bartleson and John Bidwell, became the first American emigrants to attempt a wagon crossing from Missouri to California.-The trail:...
. He made several trips across country. In 1843, he led the Walker-Chiles Party
California Trail
The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California...
that included the two daughters of George C. Yount
George C. Yount
George Calvert Yount was a trapper in William Wolfskill's party from New Mexico and came to California in 1831. He was the first Euro-American permanent settler in the Napa Valley, where he was the grantee of two Mexican land grants. Yountville, California is named for him.-Biography:George C...
. In 1844, Chiles was granted the two square league Rancho Catacula. Chiles set up a grist mill and later built a distillery and began producing whiskey on a small scale. In 1848 Chiles made another overland trip to California, bringing his own family of a son and three daughters.
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 Catacula 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 Joseph Ballinger Chiles in 1865.
In 1853, Chiles married Margret Jane Garnett. The Chiles house, built in 1856, is one of the oldest in the Napa Valley. In 1869, Joshua James Priest, who came to California in 1849, bought 692 acres (2.8 km²) of Rancho Catacula called Soda Valley or Priest Ranch. In the 1870s, Francis Sievers, bought 286 acres (1.2 km²). In 1877, the Whittle family bought 990 acres (4 km²) of in the eastern portion of Rancho Catacula called Elder Valley. After Chiles died, his nephew Isaac Skinner Chiles bought part of Rancho Catacula.
Historic sites of the Rancho
- Chiles Mill. Joseph Ballinger Chiles, erected the first American flour mill in Northern California in 1845-56.