abandoned their traditional way of life and entered the mission. The severe decrease in the Chumash population was in response to a complex set of social, economic, and demographic factors. Mexican period (1822-1848) Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. With the secularization of the missions by the Mexican government in June 1836, their lands were granted as rewards for loyal service or in response to petitions by individuals. Most of the arable land was divided up into large ranchos by 1846. This opened up the Oxnard Plain to further settlement by Europeans. Control of the area was transferred to the United States under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 and California became the 31st state in the Union in 1850. Many Mexican residents and residents who had immigrated from European countries became U.S. citizens. Initial European migration Many of the Spanish and Mexican rancho families benefited when the cattle market peaked between 1848 and 1855 due to the California Gold Rush. Cattle ranching declined drastically when a drought hit the area in 1863. James Saviers bought property in Rancho Colonia in 1862. He was a blacksmith and farmer who grew and sold eucalyptus trees used to protect crops from the seasonal Santa Ana winds that originated inland and brought strong, hot, extremely dry winds to the treeless plain. Settlers Gottfried Maulhardt and Christian Borchard along with Christian's son, John Edward, and nephew, Caspar began farming with of wheat and barley in 1867. New markets for the grain opened up when a shipping wharf was first constructed in 1871 at Hueneme. Irish immigrant Dominick McGrath arrived in 1874 with his wife and children to begin farming on the plain. Johnnas Diedrich, with his bride, Matilda, began a new life of farming in 1882 having come from Hanover, Germany. New Jerusalem was founded in 1875 along the south bank of the Santa Clara River. The community, eventually renamed El Rio, was along the route between Ventura and Hueneme. Lima beans became the dominant crop as they could be grown with very little maintenance. Farmers were actively growing trial fields of sugar beets in 1897. City development and growth In 1887, as the railroad was constructed from Los Angeles to the town of San Buenaventura, the Montalvo station was established on the plain on the north side of the river. In 1898 the Montalvo Cutoff brought the railroad across the