Rancho Los Laureles

Rancho Los Laureles was a 6,625-acre (26.81 km²) Mexican land grant in present day Monterey County, California given in 1839 by Governor Juan Alvarado to José M. Boronda and Vicente Blas Martínez. Los Laureles refers to the California Bay Laurel tree. The grant extended along the Carmel River and the Carmel Valley, was bounded to the east by the Rancho Tularcitos and Rancho Los Laureles (Ransom) on the west, and encompasses present day Carmel Valley Village.

History

The one and a half square league grant was made to Vicente Blas Martinez and José Manuel Boronda, along with Boronda's son, Juan de Mata Boronda.

Vicente Blas Martinez married Maria Josefa Teodosia Amezquita (1801-) in 1817. In 1851, Vicente Blas Martinez and his wife, sold their half-interest in Rancho Los Laureles to the Borondas.

The Boronda family partiarch, Manuel Boronda (1750-1826) accompanied Junípero Serra's second expedition to Alta California . By 1790, Boronda was stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco and married Maria Gertrudis Higuera (1776-). Besides his military duties, which included carpenter work, Manuel also conducted a class for boys. The couple then moved to Santa Cruz. In 1811, at age 61, Manuel retired from military service and with his family moved to Monterey, where Manuel built an adobe house in 1817. The three sons of Manuel and Gertrudis Boronda were: José Canuto Boronda (1792-), José Eusebio Boronda (1801-), grantee of Rancho Rincon de Sanjon; and José Manuel Boronda (1803-1878).

José Manuel Boronda married Juana Cota (1805-1894) in 1821. Although David Jack's claims to the contrary, multiple sources| list Juan Cota de Boronda as the originator of what is now known as Monterey Jack Cheese. In 1840, José Manuel Boronda, his wife, and their 15 children, came to settle on Rancho Los Laureles.

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 Los Laureles was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1853, and the grant was patented to José M. Boronda and Juan de Mata Boronda in 1866.

In 1868, the Borondas sold Rancho los Laureles to Elihu Avery, who sold it to Ezekiel Tripp in 1874. Nathan W. Spalding, later Oakland 's fifteenth Mayor, purchased a half interest in 1874. Abner Doble bought a half interest in 1875; Frederick Getchell and David Ayers in 1881; and Frank Hinkley a half interest in1881. In 1882, the Pacific Improvement Company purchased Rancho Los Laureles. In the 1900’s the Pacific Improvement Company liquidated their holdings (10,000 acres) and the Del Monte Properties headed by Samuel FB Morse, acquired the land. In 1923, they divided the land into 11 parcels. Marian Hollins bought 2,000 acres. In 1926, Frank Porter bought 600 acres of old Rancho Los Laureles. The Potters later acquired a portion of the Marian Hollins ranch and sold the northeast corner of Rancho Los Laureles to Byington Ford for an airpark.

Historic sites of the Rancho

• Boronda Adobe. The home of José Manuel Boronda, located on Boronda Road in Carmel Valley. There are two other Boronda Adobes. These are the Boronda Adobe of Monterey built by Manuel Boronda and the adobe home of his son, José Eusebio Boronda, in north Salinas.
• Carmel Valley Road-Boronda Road Eucalyptus Tree Row. A row of Eucalyptus globulus trees planted by Nathan Spaulding along the Rancho's entrance road was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 as a prominent example of the species' use in California's landscape architecture.

See also

• Ranchos of California
• List of Ranchos of California