Rancho Cañada de Salsipuedes was a 6,656-acre (26.94 km2) Mexican land grant in present day Santa Barbara County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Pedro Cordero.[1] Salsipuedes means "get out if you can", and the name refers to the narrow winding canyons and trails. The grant was south east of present day Lompoc.[2][3]
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Pedro Regalado Cordero (1785-1851) was the son of Mariano Antonio Cordero (1750-1821). He married Maria Dolores Claudia Quijada (1793-1843) of Rancho Bolsa de Chamisal in 1808. He was granted the one and a half square league Rancho Cañada de Salsipuedes in 1844. The rancho was only a few miles west of Rancho Las Cruces granted to his brother Miguel Cordero in 1837.[4]
In 1850, John C. Kays (often referred to as "Keyes" in documents) purchased the rancho from Pedro Cordero. John C. Kays (1813-1896), born in Ireland, came to America in 1833. In 1842, he came to Los Angeles, where he operated a dry-goods business. He served in the army during the Mexican–American War. In 1847 he married Josefa, a daughter of Captain Burke. In 1849 he moved to Santa Barbara, where he operated a dry-goods business.[5]
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 Cañada de Salsipuedes was filed with the Public Land Commission in 1852,[6] and the grant was patented to John C. Kays in 1874.[7]
Kays amassed a considerable fortune, owning at one time three ranchos; but he lost them in real-estate speculations. Colonel W.W. Hollister and Thomas and Albert Dibblee purchased Rancho Cañada de Salsipuedes.
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