Rancho Bodega

Rancho Bodega was a 35,487-acre (143.61 km2) Mexican land grant in present-day Sonoma County, California, given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Stephen Smith.

The grant extended along the Pacific coast from the Russian River on the north to Estero Americano on the south, and included the present-day town of Bodega Bay.

[3][4] The Mexican government, which had been concerned about the Russian presence at Fort Ross, was happy to see them leave in 1841, but less pleased when the Russian-American Company sold it to John Sutter.

That transaction again brought into question the validity of Sutter's title to the property, and Governor Manuel Micheltorena granted Rancho Bodega in part of the southern half of the former Russian claim to Captain Stephen Smith in 1844.

Local settlers had been shipping their lumber for houses from Hawaii, and Smith saw the timber growing along the shoreline as a business opportunity – particularly with the Russians leaving Fort Ross.

[5][8] Tyler Curtis succeeded in getting the California State Legislature to passed an act in 1861, giving him the right as guardian to sell the three children's interest in the rancho.

In 1877 James B. Smith, the youngest son, sued to recover the rancho, but the California Supreme Court ruled the sales by Curtis to be legal.