petition to the Governor, providing him with information on his family and on 

 the land in question, as well as a map, or diseno, of the land. The Governor 

 then sent the petition to a local officer to confirm the accuracy of the 

 information. If the officer reported favorably, the Governor granted the land, 

 but the title was not considered valid until sanctioned by the Territorial 

 Deputation, or local assembly. 



Four conditions governed the continued ownership of a rancho: (1) that 

 within one year the grantee settle the land and erect and occupy a permanent 

 dwelling; (2) that the grantee might fence or otherwise enclose his land but not 

 obstruct public roads, crossings, or easements; (3) that the rights of the Indians 

 be reserved and protected; (4) that the grantee obtain from the local magistrate 

 the act of juridical possession to define the measure of the boundaries of the 

 rancho. 



The fourth condition, when carried out, assured the grantee physical 

 identification of his rancho boundaries. The event turned into something of a 

 community affair, as neighbors of the new landowner were summoned to 

 witness and concur with the marking of the property lines. The local 

 magistrate appointed two cordeleros who carried the pole ends of a cord which 

 usually measured fifty varas (approximately 137 feet, 6 inches). With everyone 

 following on horseback, one cordelero, under the direction of the magistrate, 

 rode forward from a pile of rocks which marked the beginning of the property 

 line, until he reached the end of the cord. He then put his pole down on the 

 ground and the second cordelero rode ahead, and thus they continued around 

 the rancho boundaries, which another official kept count of the number of 

 cordeles made in the process. Any objections raised by the neighbors were 

 settled by the magistrar right on the spot, so that upon completion, the juridical 

 possession finalized the demarcation of the rancho lands. 8 



Despite the colonization laws to encourage settlement in California, only 

 fifty ranches had been granted to private individuals by 1830; and most of them 

 were to the south of San Francisco Bay. Pressure, however, was mounting to 



Robert H. Becker, Designs on the Land. Disenos of California Ranchos and Their Makers. 

 (San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1969), Introduction, n.p.; U. S. Congress, Senate, 

 Report of the Secretary of the Interior Communicating a Copy of the Report of William Carey 

 Jones, special agent to examine the subject of land titles in California (S. Doc. 18, 31st Congress 

 1st Session, 1851, Serial 859). The Jones Report is also extensively quoted in Munro-Fraser, 

 History of Marin County, pp. 151-194. Robert G. Cowan, Ranchos of California. A List of Spanish 

 Concessions 1775-1822 and Mexican Grants 1822-1846 (Fresno: Academy Library Guild, 1956) p. 

 5. 



