Rancho Santa Ana del Chino
| Rancho Santa Ana del Chino | |
|---|---|
San Bernardino, with Chino highlighted
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| Official name: Site of the Rancho Chino Adobe of Isaac Williams | |
| Reference no. | 942 |
Rancho Santa Ana del Chino was a 22,193-acre (89.81 km2) Mexican land grant in the Chino Hills and southwestern Pomona Valley, in present day San Bernardino County, California.
It was granted to Antonio Maria Lugo in 1841 by Mexican Alta California Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The name literally means "Santa Ana of the Fair Hair," though there have been statements that the ranch was named for a mission mayordomo, or foreman, who had curly hair, "chino" being also a Spanish word for "curly".
The rancho site included the present day cities of Chino, California and Chino Hills, California.
In 1841, Antonio Maria Lugo was granted rights the Rancho Santa Ana del Chino on what had been part of the San Gabriel Mission lands used for grazing mission horses and cattle until the California missions were secularized by the Mexican government in the mid-1830s and their lands made available for private settlement.
Almost immediately after taking possession and building an adobe house on what is now Boys' Republic in the city of Chino Hills, Lugo turned over the management of the ranch to his son-in-law, Isaac Williams (1799-1856.) Williams, born near Scranton, Pennsylvania, had resided in Ohio and Missouri before moving to New Mexico about 1823. He remained there for several years and then joined a fur trapping expedition to California in 1832, led by Ewing Young. Williams settled in Los Angeles, became known as Julian by the locals, and worked as a merchant before marrying Maria de Jesus Lugo in 1839. After bearing three children, Maria de Jesus died in childbirth in 1842. The following year, an additional three square leagues (for a total of eight square leagues) was granted by Governor Micheltorena to Williams.
While at the Chino ranch, Williams successfully grazed thousands of cattle for the hide and tallow trade, taking these products to the crude harbor at San Pedro Bay. William Heath Davis, in his autobiography, discusses 1846-1847 trade with Williams and a visit to the ranch in that latter year.
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