The three square league Rancho Valle de San Felipe was granted to Felipe Castillo in 1846.[3] On his death in 1848, Castillo left the land to his four children (brothers, Loreto, Manuel, and Refugio, and sister Elena).
Forster sold Rancho Valle de San Felipe to François Louis Alfred Pioche (1818–1872), a San Francisco financier. In 1890 (40 years after the sale to Forster), Castillo's daughter unsuccessfully claimed one fourth of the grant.[8]
Later it wasSan Felipe Station, a major stage stop on theButterfield Overland Mail, being the headquarters for the Mail Agent in charge of the twelve stage stations betweenWarner's Ranch andFort Yuma. San Felipe Station was located 10 miles southeast of Warner's Ranch and 18 miles northeast ofVallecito Station. The station served as a storage depot for up to 48 tons of barley and 36 tons of hay for the desert relay or swing stations. The surrounding meadows were used for replacement stage horses for the other stations to graze and recover before being returned to service. A harness maker, to repair or make new coach harness for the stagecoaches, two coaches and drivers were also stationed there. It also had a cook and a hotel keeper to provide food and beds for the hungry or weary traveler and living quarters for the staff and their families.[9]
After the war, later stage lines from California to Arizona used the station from 1867 to 1877, before the railroad reached Fort Yuma making the stage route obsolete.
^Ogden Hoffman,1862,Reports of Land Cases Determined in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Numa Hubert, San Francisco
^1860 Federal Census, Manuscript Returns, Schedule 4, Agriculture; Manuscript Returns, Schedule 1, Population, San Diego Historical Society Research Archives.
Los Angeles – Located 12 miles southeast of Cahuenga Station in thepueblo of Los Angeles. The 2nd Division headquarters was in a brick building, consisting of an office, blacksmith shop, stables and sheds.
Sackett's Wells – a later station, located 171⁄2 miles east southeast of Carrizo Creek Station, 15 miles west northwest of Indian Wells.
Indian Wells Station – Located 32 miles southeast of Carisso Creek, near present dayHeber, no water except at station.
New River Station – a later station, located 15 miles southeast of Indian Wells Station, inBaja California, 14 miles west of Alamo Mocho Station, in present dayMexicali.
Alamo Mocho Station – Located south of the Mexican border inBaja California, 38 miles east of Indian Wells Station, no water except at station.
Gardner's Wells Station – a later station, located south of the Mexican border inBaja California, 9 miles east of Alamo Mocho and 9 miles west of Seven Wells.
