Confirming Rancho Punta Del Año Nuevo (Southwestern San Mateo County) To Its New American Owners
Finely executed plat map and 19th Century copy of the official United States General Land Office confirmation of ownership of four square leagues of land commonly known as Rancho Punta Del Año Nuevo to Maria Antonio Pico , Juan Castro, Manuel Castro I, Manuel Castro II, Jose Antonio, Maria Antonio, Jose Francisco, Jose Leandro and Juan Bautista and the children and heirs of Simeon Castro, originally executed on September 4, 1857 and signed in facsimile by John Coffee Hays, US. Surveyor General for California and a further facsimile signature of James Buchanan, President and G.H. Jones, Secretary.
Originally drawn by pioneer surveyor and mapmaker Julius Kellenberger, the accompanying plat map illustrates a large coastal section of San Mateo County, from Pescadero State Beach and Butano Creek in the north to just south of Año Nuevo State Park at the southernmost tip of San Mateo County.
The text includes a lengthy multi-page description of the results of the survey of the Rancho, which was likely conducted in 1852 and 1853. The final page includes the seal of Alameda County, California and July 27, 1899 signature of J. George Smith, certifying that the document is an official copy of the original, including a 10 cent stamp, which is also initialed and dated by J.G.S. (J. George Smith).
Rancho Punta Del Año Nuevo
The rancho covered by this survey was a large Mexican land grant in San Mateo County dating from 1842 when it was given by Governor Juan B. Alvarado to Simeon Castro. The grant covered 17,753 acres and extended from Rancho Butano and Arroyo de Los Frijoles in the north to Point Año Nuevo in the south. Following the California Land Act of 1851, the grant was claimed by and patented (in 1857) to Maria Antonia Pico de Castro and the heirs of Simeon Castro.
The land was purchased by Clark & Coburn of San Francisco in 1862 and subsequently leased to the Rensselaer, Isaac, and Edgar Steele to run a dairy enterprise. In 1869, the Steele family purchased approximately 7,000 acres south of Gazos Creek. The area covered by this survey is 7060.47 acres.
The houses of I.C. Steele (presumably Isaac) and R.E. Steele (Rennselaer) are shown on the survey.
The Steele Ranch Papers were donated to the Green Library at Stanford by Mrs. Catherine Baumgarten Steele in 1972.