Plat of the Rancho Las Juntas : finally confirmed to the a[d]ministrator of the estate of Wm. Welch [cartographic material].

              
Contra Costa County Historical Society
Plat of the Rancho Las Juntas
This map of Rancho Las Juntas has
been reproduced from the official map
on file at the Office of the Contra Costa
County Recorder. The name Las Juntas
is the Spanish term for junction and
refers to the junction of streams at
Walnut Creek.
The Rancho was granted to William
Welch by Governor Manuel Micheltor-
ena on February 21, 1844. William
Welch was an Irishman who came to
California in 1821, settled in the Pueblo
de San Jose and married Maria Antonia
Galindo. The grant was for three leagues
of land (Li.292 acres), extending from
the   present   City   of   Walnut   Creek,
Original Rancho boundaries were
natural landmarks such as streams, hills
and prominent trees, recognized by the
Rancheros as marking the limits of their
Ranchos. More accurate methods of determining the boundaries were used by
the United States Surveyor General, as
demonstrated by this map.
Rancho titles were threatened when
California was admitted to the Union
in 1850. The tide of immigrants included many who turned to the soil instead
of the gold mines, and they found that
the Rancho lands were the most desirable. Title to the Ranchos had to be
established to protect them from the
squatters and to legalize sale of land.
Testimony on the title and boundaries
of Rancho Las Juntas was presented before the United State Land Commission
in 1852. The original land grant documents provided to the Rancho owner
by the Mexican Governor, along with
neighboring Rancheros, was the basis for
confirmation of title. The final survey,
made by the United States Surveyor
General in 1864, established the boundaries of the Rancho.
—Leonora Fink.
Contra Costa County Library