By Robert Ryal Miller
This book covers the life of Juan Alvarado, governor of Mexican California during the time that William Workman built his adobe house. Governor Alvarado gave the initial land grant for Rancho La Puente to John Rowland who shared it with friend and business associate, William Workman.
The book is a great aid to Homestead Museum Docents for understanding the “rancho” period prior to the Mexican Cession of 1848 when Mexico ceded a great area of the southwestern U. S. The author describes the conflict between the Mexican government and the Catholic church over control of the mission lands and the Native Americans. Also discussed was the conflict of those Mexicans who believed in central control over California and the “Californios” who favored local rule.
Juan Alvarado was wise enough to know that increased settlement by those loyal to Mexican California would forestall encroachment by Americans from the east, by Russians from the north and by English and French from the Pacific Ocean.
The book finishes with a discussion of the process by which the U. S. attempted to resolve the issue of ownership of land grants. There was a natural conflict between the methods employed by Mexico and the U. S. to determine property limits. The “rancheros” were forced to deal with a lengthy, complex and costly process to prove ownership that in the end rewarded lawyers with plenty of fees. This process was compounded with floods, droughts and squatters which finished the rancho system.
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