Description
The collection consists of deeds and legal documents relating to property that was owned by
Leland and Jane Stanford, or Stanford University. Leland and Jane Stanford owned over
100,000 acres throughout California . Of the fifteen counties in which the Stanfords owned
property (Alameda, Butte, Contra Costa, Fresno, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Sacramento, San
Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Tehama, and Yolo), the majority of the deeds cover
Butte, Santa Clara , and Tehama counties. Although the deeds span the years 1852 (a deed
pertaining to the Bosque Rancho in Butte County) to 1932 (a deed pertaining to Vina Ranch in
Tehama County), the bulk of deeds and other legal documents date between the l880s and
1890s. Moreover, many of the deeds included in this collection relate to the history of the
ownership of the properties that eventually were owned by the Stanfords or Stanford
University. For example, included in the collection are several deeds and other legal
documents signed between George Gordon and Delavan Hoag for property located in Rancho
Rincon de San Francisco and Rancho San Francisquito in Santa Clara County in the 1860s (long
before the Stanfords bought the same property).
Restrictions
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to
examine collection materials is not an authorization to publish. These materials are made
available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission or reproduction
beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or
assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/spc/using-collections/permission-publish