Rancho Los Laureles | |
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  Rancho Los Laureles Location of Monterey County, California Show map of California Rancho Los Laureles Rancho Los Laureles (the United States) Show map of the United States | |
| Coordinates:36°30′00″N121°45′00″W / 36.500°N 121.750°W /36.500; -121.750 |
Rancho Los Laureles was a 6,625-acre (26.81 km2)Mexican land grant in present-dayMonterey County, California given in 1839 by GovernorJuan Alvarado toJosé Manuel Boronda and Vicente Blas Martínez.[1] Los Laureles refers to theCalifornia bay laurel tree. The grant extended along theCarmel River and the Carmel Valley, was bounded to the east by theRancho Tularcitos andRancho Los Laureles (Ransom) on the west, and encompasses present dayCarmel Valley Village.[2][3]
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.[4]
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 patriarch, Manuel Boronda (1750-1826) accompaniedJunípero Serra's second expedition toAlta California. By 1790, Boronda was stationed at thePresidio 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.[5] The three sons of Manuel and Gertrudis Boronda were: José Canuto Boronda (1792-), José Eusebio Boronda (1801-), grantee ofRancho Rincón del Sanjón; and José Manuel Boronda (1803-1878).
José Manuel Boronda married Juana Cota (1805-1894) in 1821. Juana brought cheese to Carmel Valley, calledQueso del Pais, which in Spanish means "cheese of the county." She used a Spanish original recipe to make her white-yellow cheese.[6]David Jack is credited as being the first to market and popularize what was namedMonterey Jack cheese.[7] In 1840, José Manuel Boronda, his wife, and their 15 children, came to settle on Rancho Los Laureles.
With thecession of California to the United States following theMexican-American War, the 1848Treaty 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 thePublic Land Commission in 1853,[8][9] and the grant waspatented to José M. Boronda and Juan de Mata Boronda in 1866.[10]
In 1868, the Borondas sold Rancho los Laureles for $12,000 (equivalent to $283,470 in 2024),[11] to Elihu Avery, who sold it to Ezekiel Tripp in 1874.Nathan W. Spaulding, later Oakland 's fifteenth Mayor, purchased a half interest on April 27, 1874.[12][13] Abner Doble bought a half interest in 1875; Frederick Getchell and David Ayers in 1881; and Frank Hinkley a half interest in 1881.
In 1882, thePacific Improvement Company (PIC) purchased Rancho Los Laureles. In 1888, PIC hiredWilliam Hatton to manage their Del Monte dairies. In the 1900s the PIC liquidated their holdings (10,000 acres) and the Del Monte Properties headed bySamuel FB Morse, acquired the land. In 1923, they divided the land into 11 parcels.Marion Hollins bought 2,000 acres (810 ha). In 1926,Frank B. Porter bought 678 acres (274 ha) and launched the first residential subdivision in Carmel Valley that becameRobles del Rio. The Porters later acquired a portion of theMarion Hollins ranch and sold the northeast corner of Rancho Los Laureles.[14]
In August 1928, Hollins sold a 400-acre (1.6 km2) ranch toSan Francisco broker Gordon Armsby.[15] She commissioned architect Clarence A. Tantau, who helped design theHotel Del Monte, to build a Spanish-style hacienda out of Carmel stone withterracotta roofing, and oak-beamed ceilings. It became a Hollywood retreat forCharlie Chaplin,Theda Bara,Marlon Brando, andClark Gable. It was once called Casa Escondido (Hidden House).[13][16] Clarence E. Holman (1877-1962), eldest son of Rensselaer Luther Holman (1842-1909, the founder of Holman's Department Store inPacific Grove, California, bought the ranch in 1943. In the 1950s and 1960s, Clarence created a working dude ranch called theHolman Ranch, with bungalows, riding stables, and a stone ranch house. After Holman died in 1962, his wife Vivian L. Ogden-Holman (1903-1981) continued hosting rodeos, horse shows, and an annual celebration of the ranch's birthday called, The Fiesta de los Amigos (Friends Party).[17]
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