Title: Ranchos of California - Wikipedia
Headings: Ranchos of California
Ranchos of California
Contents
Spanish era
Mexican era
Secularization
Ownership
American era
Gold Rush
Land claims
Disintegration
Legacy
Notes and references
Further reading
External links

Content: The house, which replaced the original adobe on the rancho, still stands and is now part of Marsh Creek State Park (California). Secularization
Soldiers, rancheros, farmers, and those in power coveted the rich coastal lands that the missions controlled. The Mexican government was also fearful about the missions which remained loyal to the Pope and the Catholic Church in Spain. In August 1833, the government secularized all of the missions and their valuable lands, about 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha) per mission. The Mexican government allowed the padres to keep only the church, priest's quarters, and priest's garden. The army troops guarding each Mission were dismissed. The government stipulated that one half the mission lands and property was to be given to neophytes in grants of 33 acres (13 ha) of arable land along with land "in common" sufficient "to pasture their stock." A board of magistrates was to oversee the mission's crops and herds, while the land was to be divided into communal pasture, a town plot, and individual plots intended for each Indian family. In addition, one half of the herds were to be divided proportionately among the neophyte families. But this purpose was never accomplished.