In 1834, secularization of the California Missions was initiated by the Mexican Government at the urging of Mexican citizens living in California in order to distribute the rich Mission lands to deserving individuals. The initial intent was to provide some of that land to the local native peoples, however that was easily sidestepped and the existing Ranchos were granted to Government and Military insiders.
Local Historian Harold Franklin provided the details:
“The Mexican government did grant three areas to the San Miguel Salinan Indians in the 1840’s along with the land grants that were given. However, the boundaries were not specified nor were included in the Rancho land grant boundaries defined by the Alta California government.The American government did not honor those areas in the 1850s and 1860s when they were patenting the Mexican Land Grants, so the Indians lost out. Also, in the late 1860s we had a devastating epidemic of diphtheria throughout this whole area that nearly wiped out the native population who had no immunity, as well as killing some settlers. The Indians either left the area or those that did survive, abandoned the villages and were incorporated into the general population of “Mexicans,” the men being very skilled cowboys on the ranches. There are a number of Salinan and Chumash bloodlines in our area.In 1928 my father’s mother worked for SLO County in what later became the Welfare Department and she traveled to several Indian reservations in our area. One was between Atascadero and Morro Bay up Toro Creek Road. It turns out that the grandmother of my good friend Hilda Carpenter of Atascadero, a full blooded San Antonio Mission Salinan, lived and died on that Reservation.”
Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena granted the 17,774-acre Rancho Santa Ysabel to Francisco Arce on 12 May 1844.
The Mexican period ended in 1848 when Mexico ceded all their northern territory to the United States as part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
In 1850 the California territory became a State within the U.S. and San Luis Obispo one of the original Counties.
A patent by the U.S. Land Commission was issued for the 17,774 acre Rancho Santa Ysabel to Francisco Arce on 21 May 1866 – thereby legalizing his ownership of the original Mexican Grant under U.S. land rules.
The approximate Rancho boundaries were as follows:
- The western boundary; the Salinas River
- The southern boundary; a line from the Salinas River 2 miles south of our River Road gate easterly 5.5 miles to about the intersection of Creston and Stagecoach Roads.
- The northern boundary, a line 6 miles north of our River Road gate, starting from the Salinas River, east along the Wellsona Road for about 2 miles
- The eastern boundary; irregular, between the two most eastern points mentioned above, and somewhat following the Huer-Huero Creek.
There are a number of unclear transfers of the Rancho since Arce’s ownership, the record shows Acre’s sale of the property four different times; 1853 to Jeremiah Clark, 1855 to Manual Castro, 1859 to Theodoro Gonzales, 1874 to Maurice Dore – with no record of his re-acquiring the property between sales.
Tax records indicate that Maurice Dore had 30,000 sheep on the Rancho.
Francisco Arce died destitute in 1878.
The Rancho Santa Ysabel was offered for sale by E. Hatch on 6 March 1885 and was purchased by the West Coast Land Company in 1886.