Sac History Happenings: A brief history of Rancho del Paso

Sac History Happenings

News and developments in Sacramento and California history

May 20, 2011

A brief history of Rancho del Paso

Local historian Lance Armstrong has provided us with an informative two-part series on Rancho del Paso, published recently in Valley Community Newspapers.

Rancho del Paso was a 44,000-acre Mexican land grant that covered much of present-day Carmichael and Arden. Its rich agricultural soil gave rise to orchards, vineyards, oak groves, and fields of alfalfa, hops and other crops. It also was an excellent environment for stock farms.

Armstrong explains that Capt. John A. Sutter claimed rights to this land and deeded it to Eliab Grimes, Hiram Grimes and John Sinclair, even though Sutter didn't actually own it. The property passed through several owners before being subdivided and sold off.

The most famous owner was James Ben Ali Haggin, a rancher who raised sheep, cattle and world-renowned race horses. Haggin's great thoroughbred, Ben Ali, won the 1886 Kentucky Derby.

PHOTO CREDITS: Ben Ali, the Kentucky Derby winner, is immortalized as a statue in developer Paul Petrovich's newest public art contribution at the corner of Marconi and Eastern Avenues in Sacramento. 2009 Sacramento Bee photo by Anne Williams. James Ben Ali Haggin.

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California and Sacramento have a long, rich, vibrant history. And our region is blessed with an abundance of historical resources maintained by museums, libraries, archives and societies. This blog aims to alert readers to the latest developments in local/state historical education and research.

Send tips concerning upcoming exhibits, tours, lectures and meetings, as well as new books, magazine articles and online collections to the blog's contributors.

The Contributors:

Michael Dolgushkin

Michael Dolgushkin is Manuscript Librarian at the California State Library History Section. He is co-author of San Francisco's California Street Cable Cars and is a frequent contributor to the California State Library Foundation Bulletin. Contact him at mdolgushkin@library.ca.gov.

Amanda Graham is a Certified Archivist working in the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento Public Library. She earned a BS in History from Southern Oregon University and a MS in Information Studies with an emphasis in archives from The University of Texas at Austin. Contact her at agraham@saclibrary.org.

Pete Basofin is Director of Editorial Research at The Sacramento Bee. He previously worked at The St. Petersburg Times and Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune. Contact him at pbasofin@sacbee.com.

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