Rancho Quito was a 13310 acres (53.9 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 Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County, California

Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...

 given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José Zenon Fernandez and Jose Noriega. The grant included present day Saratoga

Saratoga, California

Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census....

, Campbell

Campbell, California

Campbell is a city in Santa Clara County, California, a suburb of San Jose, and part of Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Campbell's population is 39,349...

, and Cupertino

Cupertino, California

Cupertino is an affluent suburban city in Santa Clara County, California in the U.S., directly west of San Jose on the western edge of the Santa Clara Valley with portions extending into the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The population was 58,302 at the time of the 2010 census. Forbes...

. The eastern boundary was Arroyo San Tomas Aquino

San Tomas Aquino Creek

San Tomas Aquinas Creek, known locally as San Tomas Aquino Creek, is a stream that heads on El Sereno mountain in El Sereno Open Space Preserve in Saratoga, California in Santa Clara County, California, United States...

.

History

The rancho was granted to José Noriega and his father-in-law, José Zenon Fernandez in 1841. Fernandez, came to California with the Hijar-Padres Colony in 1834, and was a teacher in San Jose

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

 from 1836 to 1840. Sons Dionisio and Máximo were granted Rancho Fernandez

Rancho Fernandez

Rancho Fernandez was a Mexican land grant in present day Butte County, California given in 1846 by Governor Pío Pico to Dionisio Zenon Fernandez and Máximo Zenon Fernandez. The grant extended along the west bank of the Feather River, and encompassed present day Oroville and...

 in 1846. Noriega sold his share of the rancho to José Manuel Alviso in 1844.

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 Quito 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 José M. Alviso and the heirs of José Zenon Fernandez (Dioniso Fernandez, Francisco Maximo Fernandez, Jose Zenon Fernandez, Manuela Loveto Fernandez, and Petra Enriquez Fernandez) in 1866.

In 1859, Alviso sold part of the rancho to José Ramon Argüello

José Ramon Argüello

José Ramon Argüello was the son of Santiago Argüello, a Commandant and later Alcalde of San Diego,and María del Pilar Ortega.Argüello married María Ysabella Alviso....

. Before the boundaries of the rancho were defined several families occupied what they thought was public land east of Cupertino.

Jose Noriega

Jose Noriega (1798 - ) was born in Asturias

Asturias

The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and came to California with the Hijar-Padres Colony on the "Natalia" in 1834. He married Manuela Fernandez daughter of José Zenon Fernandez ( - 1844), who also came with Hijar-Padres Colony in 1834. Noriega was alcalde of San Jose

San Jose, California

San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

 1839. Noriega was grantee 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...

 in 1835 (sold to 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...

 in 1837), Rancho Las Positas

Rancho Las Positas

Rancho Las Positas was a Mexican land grant in present day Alameda County, California given in 1839 by governor Juan Alvarado to Robert Livermore and Jose Noriega. Las Positas means "little watering holes" in Spanish...

 in 1839 (sold to Robert Livermore

Robert Livermore

Robert Thomas Livermore was a rancher and landowner in the early days of California, whose holdings eventually formed the basis of the city that bears his name: Livermore, California....

 in 1854), and Rancho Quito in 1841 (sold to Manuel Alviso in 1844), and purchased Rancho Canada de los Vaqueros

Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros

Rancho Cañada de los Vaqueros was a Mexican land grant mostly in present day Contra Costa County, California but partially in Alameda County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Antonio Higuera, Francisco Alviso and Manuel Miranda...

in 1847 (sold in 1856).