Betty Lou Young and Randy Young Santa Monica Canyon: A Walk Through History Casa Vieja Press: Pacific Palisades, CA, 1997, 182 pp., 1850, 1848, 1847, 1846, 1838, 1831, 1827, 1822, 1820, 1802, 1800, 1784
" . . .
"The rancho period began in 1784, as soldiers, planning retirement, were granted permission to establish homes and run cattle on their own lands outside the pueblo. While these were little more than grazing permits, subsequent grants were accorded official status. The earliest such grant along the northwestern fringe of Santa Monica Bay was forRancho Topanga Malibu Sequit, issued by the Spanish to José Bartolomé Tapia in 1802. To the south, Augustin and Ygnacio Machado and Felipe and Tomas Talamantes were given grazing rights to Rancho La Ballona in 1820-the low-lying flatland bordering Ballona Creek, the present site of Culver City.
"In 1822 Mexico won its independence from Spain. Therefore, in 1827, Francisco Javier Alvarado and Antonio Ignacio Machado were given a grazing permit for "the place called Santa Monica" by Guillermo Cota, the alcalde (mayor) of Los Angeles in the name of the new Mexican government. Machado is believed to have relinquished his share to Alvarado in 1831, but Alvarado's sons kept the grant until June 14, 1838, when they relinquished their rights to Francisco Marquez and Ysidro Reyes." pp. 5, 6
" . . .
"An even greater threat arose when the United States army marched into Los Angeles in 1846 and again in 1847, leading to the surrender of Alta California to the United States in 1848. . . . "