CHIMILES RANCHO – NAPA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

CHIMILES RANCHO – NAPA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

(California) Lambert, W.H. NAPA COUNTY ABSTRACT COMPANY. NAPA, CALIFORNIA. (Title page) No. 7082. ABSTRACT OF TITLE OF PROPERTY BELONGING TO W. H. LAMBERT. MADE AT THE REQUEST OF JOHN W. WARBOYS. DATED APRIL 2ND, 1914. DESCRIPTION: 626.38 ACRES OF LAND – 83 (2) pgs. Two manuscript folding maps on linen. The first attached map titled Portion of Chimiles Rancho. 13 ½ x 8 ¾ inches. The second map titled Plat of the Rancho Chimiles. Finally Confirmed William Gordon and Nathan Coombs. Surveyed under instruction from the U.S. Surveyor General By C.C. Tracy Dep’y Sur. August 1859. Contains 17.762 44/100 Acres…. 18 ½ x 23 inches.

Typed abstract opens with a "Description" of the land and its boundaries, followed by a chronological identification of the grants, deeds, mortgages, and changes in ownership for said property. The earliest portion of the abstract details the grant awarded by Governor Pio Pico, the last Governor of Mexican California, to Jose Ygnacio Berreyesa on 2 May 1846 for "the Rancho Chimiles, containing four square leagues [approximately 17,312 acres] in Napa County." Subsequent pages detail transfer of ownership in 1851 of a portion of the Berreyesa grant to William Gordon (1801-1876) and Nathan Coombs (1826-1877) as identified in the plat, then to others until the 1914 conveyance of a 626.38 acre portion of the Rancho Chimiles to W.H. Lambert. The final page of the abstract is signed by "H.L. Gunn" as President of the Napa County Abstract Company.

Original half-leather and gilt stamped red cloth, string bound at left edge. Damp stain to upper right corner of the front cover and in upper right margin of the first few leaves. Bottom right half-leather corner chip. Overall iin vg cond.

Rancho Chimiles was established as part of the Mexican land grant system in Alta, California during the 1830s and 1840s, under which the government awarded vast tracts of land, known as ranchos, to Mexican citizens and loyal supporters as rewards for service and to promote the expansion of cattle ranching, the region's primary economic activity. These grants typically ranged from one to eleven square leagues and were intended to develop the frontier while fostering self-sufficient pastoral economies based on large-scale livestock operations. An abstract of title for a 626 acre portion of the Rancho Chimiles land grant in Napa County. Rancho Chimiles was a 17,762-acre Mexican land grant, given in 1846 by Governor Pio Pico, the last Governor of Mexican, California, to José Ygnacio Berreyesa. 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 Chimiles was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852 and the grant was patented to William Gordan and Nathan Coombs in 1860.

“Following the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848, ceded Alta, California, including Rancho Chimiles, to the United States and obligated the U.S. government to recognize valid Mexican land grants issued prior to the treaty. This provision aimed to protect the property rights of Mexican grantees amid the transition to American sovereignty, though implementation proved challenging due to the need for formal validation of titles. In 1851, shortly after California's admission to the Union, William Henry Gordon—grantee of the adjacent Rancho Quesenosi—and his son-in-law Nathan Coombs acquired Rancho Chimiles from the Berreyesa family through private sale, expanding their holdings in the Napa region. The purchase occurred in 1851, reflecting early American interest in consolidating large ranchos for ranching and settlement. To secure legal title under U.S. law, the California Land Act of 1851 mandated that claimants to former Mexican grants file petitions with a newly established Public Land Commission within six months of the law's enactment. Gordon and Coombs complied by filing their claim for Rancho Chimiles on April 28, 1852, in the Northern District of California (Case No. 43), asserting rights based on the original 1846 Mexican grant to José Ignacio Berreyesa. The commission confirmed the claim on April 11, 1853, after reviewing supporting documents, including the original grant paperwork. The confirmation process continued through the U.S. judicial system, as claimants could appeal commission decisions to federal district courts, and ultimately to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary. An appeal in the case was dismissed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on July 27, 1857, upholding the commission's decision in favor of Gordon and Coombs. This judicial affirmation solidified their ownership, leading to the issuance of a U.S. patent on December 19, 1860, by the General Land Office for 17,762.44 acres, though portions had been sold prior to confirmation, with the patentees holding the validated title for the remainder. The patent, recorded in Napa County, marked the official transfer of the rancho into unambiguous American private ownership, resolving uncertainties from the post-war era.”

“Following the issuance of the U.S. patent for Rancho Chimiles to William Gordon and Nathan Coombs on December 19, 1860, the expansive 17,762-acre grant was divided among its principal claimants. Gordon retained the southeastern portions, encompassing what became known as Gordon Valley, while Coombs held the northern areas; additionally, John Wooden had acquired the southwestern section, later named Wooden Valley, as early as 1852 from the original grantee Jose Ignacio Berryessa. In the late 19th century, the Gordon and Coombs families primarily utilized their respective holdings for cattle ranching and general farming, reflecting the broader agricultural patterns of Napa County's ranchos during that era. By the early 20th century, ownership began to fragment through sales and subdivisions among heirs and descendants, resulting in smaller, independent parcels managed as distinct operations such as the Gordon Ranch, Gordon Family Ranch, Loney Ranch, and Morgan Ranch, primarily under Gordon family control in Gordon Valley. Mid-20th-century developments saw further partial sales of land for emerging uses, though much of the remaining acreage continued in agricultural production, including walnut orchards and general farming, through the 1970s.”

By the late 19th century, the rancho had transitioned into cattle ranching and hay production, reflecting the broader agricultural patterns of the region during the Gold Rush era.

Located in the Wooden and Gordon Valleys in the hills of Napa, Rancho Chimiles is one of the oldest ranches in Napa County, California. Today, the region is world-renowned for its highly regarded vineyards.

Source: Grokipedia; Rancho Chimiles