Rancho El Molino
Rancho El Molino was a 17,892-acre (72.41 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Sonoma County, California given to John B.R. Cooper by Governor José Figueroa in 1833 and officially confirmed by Governor Nicolás Gutiérrez in 1836. "Molino" means "mill" in Spanish, and the name refers to Cooper's sawmill. The grant extends south from Russian River along Atascadero Creek, and encompasses present-day Forestville.
Captain John Bautista Rogers Cooper (1791–1872) married General Vallejo’s sister Encarnacion in 1827. At the direction of Governor Figueroa in 1835, General Vallejo began construction of the Presidio of Sonoma to counter the Russian presence at Fort Ross. To extend the settlements in the direction of Fort Ross, Cooper was granted Rancho El Molino in 1833. Cooper constructed a water power-operated commercial sawmill in 1834. Cooper also provided recommendations to Vallejo for grantees for the nearby Rancho Cañada de Jonive, Rancho Cañada de Pogolimi, and Rancho Estero Americano.
With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican-American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored. As required by the Land Act of 1851, a claim for Rancho El Molino was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852, and the grant was patented to John B. R. Cooper in 1853.
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