Monticello, California
| Monticello | |
|---|---|
| Former settlement | |
 Monticello
|
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| Coordinates: 38°34′40″N 122°12′26″W / 38.57778°N 122.20722°WCoordinates: 38°34′40″N 122°12′26″W / 38.57778°N 122.20722°W | |
| Country |
 United States
|
| State |
 California
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| County | Napa County |
| Demolished | 1953–7 |
| Elevation | 443 ft (135 m) |
Monticello was a town in Napa County, California. The site of the settlement is completely covered by Lake Berryessa.
Monticello was a town erected within Rancho Las Putas, a Mexican land grant of 35,516 acres (143.73 km2) given in 1843 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to José de los Reyes Berreyesa and Sexto "Sisto" Berelleza, members of the Berreyesa family of Californios. The grant was enclosed in a river valley with Putah Creek running through it. After California was ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the Berreyesas filed the claim with the American Public Land Commission in their wives' names in 1852, and the grant was patented to them in 1863.
By 1853, José de Jesus and Sisto Berelleza had sold minor parcels of Rancho Las Putas, referred to as Berryessa Ranch by the American settlers, to pay gambling debts. They owed Edward Schultz $1,645 but couldn't pay him in cash; Schultz petitioned the county to auction a major 26,000-acre (110 km2) section of the Berreyesa holdings. In the auction, Schultz paid only $2,000 for the huge parcel, and quickly resold it for $100,000 to a consortium of developers.
In 1866, the developers holding the majority of land in the valley divided Rancho Las Putas into smaller parcels to sell to farmers, and platted a town called Monticello. Within a year, the valley was filled with farmers who enjoyed mild winters and bountiful harvests, especially of wheat. By 1870, Monticello contained a cemetery, a general store, blacksmith shops, hotels and various other businesses. In 1875, a former toll road through the valley was opened to become a public road, maintained by the county. A four- and six-horse stagecoach ran from the 300 men working at the remote quicksilver mining town of Knoxville south through rocky hills to Monticello, where the horses were changed, then west to Napa. The Berreyesas moved from their original hacienda holdings to smaller dwellings. The large adobe estate house belonging to Sisto Berreyesa was left to ruin, but a second, smaller one, was held by a settler named Abraham Clark. In the late 19th century, the valley floor was covered with family farms whose land titles could be traced to the Homestead Act of 1862. Much of the valley floor was covered with dry-farmed wheat and barley fields, with some orchards and grapevines mixed in. Ranching was mostly in the foothills. In 1900 and 1901, news of a high-quality oil strike in Berryessa Valley brought speculators and experts in drilling, but no results.
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