#6 - Rancho Butano
(BOOT-ah-noh)

he name Butano attached to this Rancho is of Indian origin. It is said to indicate an Indian gathering place for social converse.

The Butano Rancho was granted to Ramona Sanchez (SAHN-chays) by Governor Juan B. Alvarado, February 19, 1838. She was the mother of Jose Antonio Galindo who was granted the Rancho Laguna Merced in 1835. The tract contained one square league or 4,438.67 acres, much of which was cultivable or covered with acres of excellent timber. This Rancho is recorded as having been re-granted to the same grantee, by Governor Manuel Micheltorena on November 14, 1844. However, the claimant for this Rancho who filed his petition for confirmation on February 24, 1853, was one Manuel Rodriguez. Final confirmation was awarded to Rodriguez under the laws of the United States, on July 31, 1862, and a patent issued in 1866. Later this Rancho Butano was the property of Clark & Coburn, and then the title passed to Loren Coburn alone, who was an odd character of early days in San Mateo County. Coburn subsequently bought Punta Ano Nuevo which extended his holding to more than 22,000 acres. He was a perpetual litigant in the courts and was referred to as the “poor little rich man of Pescadero.” For many years the Rancho But-ano was in Santa Cruz County (first called the County of Branciforte) but it with other lands was finally annexed to San Mateo County in 1868. In general the Rancho was along the ocean shore between Butano Creek on the north and Arroyo de los Frijoles on the south and extended inland between these streams to the hills. Pescadero Point and Pebble Beach with its once famous Hotel are on its ocean front. Arroyo de los Frijoles is “Creek of the Beans,” and Bean Hollow Lagoon has become Lake Lucerne, now possibly due for correction.

The Dons Part 7
(Rancho San Pedro)