Rancho
Guenoc was one of three land grants in Lake County, and
encompassed essentially all of Coyote Valley, stretching from the
range of low mountains just north of Middletown to what is now the
southern end of Spruce Grove Road, and from the most westerly
curve of Putah Creek eastward and dipping south to encompass what became the Guenoc winery and
vineyards.
It was among dozens
of land grants "hastily awarded" in 1845 and 1846 by Pio Pico, the last Mexican
governor, when it became clear
that the Americans would soon prevail in the Mexican-American war
and take over.
The six-square-league Rancho Guenoc was granted
to George Rock (or Roch), believed to be a Canadian who had lived in
California since 1837, on August 8, 1845. Rancho Callayomi, about
one-third the size and comprising the area around what is now
Middletown, was ceded to Robert T. Ridley on June 17 that same
year. A year earlier a grant encompassing the Clear Lake area
south to include the Lower Lake area, Rancho Lupiyomi, had been granted to Juan
Antonio and Salvador Vallejo.
All were then a part of Napa County, known as
the Clear Lake Township. Lake County was created in 1861.
Rock
reportedly was working as an agent for Jacob Leese, a man said to
be "bold in business speculations," and in 1847 sold the
Guenoc ranch to Leese for $300. It has been speculated that Leese
himself worked as an agent for one or more of the Vallejos, who
had extensive holdings in Northern California.
In 1852, under new American land title laws, Archibald Alexander Ritchie and Paul
S. Forbes were able to file a claim for the Guenoc grant. It
was validated in December 1853, although a stipulation for valid
claims was that the land be unoccupied.
Ritchie and Forbes' claim for Rancho
Guenoc apparently was not disputed, although several early
settlers had raised cabins on Rancho Guenoc before the claim was granted.
These "squatters" were driven off by the ranch managers
or their presence quietly accommodated.
On the official surveyor's map of
1857, a
prerequisite for the patent for
the land being finalized in 1863, "Sterling's
House" is located at the most northerly corner.
"Manlove's House" is acknowledged – near a small lake and Sugar Loaf Mountain – and an
unidentified house near the southern tip. This may have belonged
to A. H. Butts, of Butts Canyon, who is known to have moved on,
under pressure, further south into Snell Valley. A "white
sulphur spring" is noted just outside the boundary lines on
the west, but when the surveyor's map is superimposed on a
contemporary Google Earth map,
Harbin Hot Springs is farther west, so the contention that Ritchie once owned that is probably
unfounded. Also questionable are the claims that Ritchie bought
the Collayomi grant, and that he was the person who sold land for
the establishment of Calistoga to Sam Brannan. Ritchie was known
to have holdings in Napa County, but it is not clear that those
extended beyond the Rancho Suisun.
On July 8, 1856, Ritchie was ejected from his wagon and died instantly. Robert
Waterman, with whom Ritchie had partnered in developing the Suisun
property, was charged with settling his estate and assigned John
M. Hamilton to again reside on the premises and manage the
property.
Paul Forbes sold his share of both the Guenoc and Collayomi
ranches to on of Ritchie's sons-in-law, Gen. M.D.L. Simpson, in 1867 for
$12,000. The following year, Simpson deeded half the lands to
Ritchie's wife and children. In 1869, Martha Ritchie conveyed her
shares to her children for $20,000.
The heirs began selling portions of the
properties in the early 1870s. Hugh Diamond acquired 950 acres on
Jan. 19, 1872, for $10,000. Yette Getz bought 73 acres on Oct. 1,
1879.
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